“I think Yoon deserves to be selected and represent the country. It’s an honor for any player to represent his country.”
The comments came a day after Lotte Giants manager Larry Sutton praised outfielder Yoon Dong-hee, 20. On July 27, Cho Gye-hyun, chairman of the Korea Baseball Organization, visited Jamsil Baseball Stadium to watch Lotte play the Doosan Bears. Jo was flanked by KBO President Heo Koo-yeon.
The 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games baseball team, led by head coach Ryu Jung-il, finalized its 24-man roster last month. Ryu and Cho initially looked at players from all 10 KBO clubs to select the best possible roster, but then an injury twist occurred. Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom Heroes), a center fielder and key batting contributor, was diagnosed with a three-month recovery time after undergoing left ankle ligament suture surgery on Aug. 28. The season-ending injury is a major setback for the Asian Games squad.
Lotte outfielders Yoon Dong-hee (19) and Kim Min-seok (19) have been considered as potential replacements. Yoon, in her second year as a professional, has developed into one of Lotte’s leading hitters, batting .312 (67-for-215) with an OPS of .718, two home runs and 23 RBIs in 61 games this year.
This year’s rookie, Kim Min-seok, is batting .285 (235-for-67) with an OPS of .715, two home runs, and 29 RBIs in 76 games. He’s had some ups and downs in his first year as a pro, but he’s on an upward curve again, batting .457 in his last 10 games. Sutton is using Kim as the center fielder in the outfield, where he has the most defensive responsibilities, and is developing him as the team’s present and future.
Both Yoon Dong-hee and Kim Min-seok have been performing well enough to earn a spot on the Asian Games team. While it’s unlikely that Cho would have gone into the room just to look at them, they are two of the hottest replacements for Lee Jung-hoo in recent memory. Yoon Dong-hee and Kim Min-seok both had multi-hit performances on the day, with the latter swiping a pair of RBIs.
Sutton sees Yoon and Kim as indispensable for Lotte right now. “Without Ahn Kwon-soo, we don’t have a typical number one hitter. Yoon has a good batting average and a good batting average, so she’s the number one hitter. He’s young, but he has the maturity of a young player.”
Regarding Kim Min-seok, he said, “His biggest advantage is that he has the instincts of a baseball player, which is hard to find in a 19-year-old. When you see him fielding, hitting, and running the bases, he plays at least as maturely as a 25-year-old player, so you can see that he has mature baseball instincts unlike other 19-year-old players.” He was pleased with the All-Star rookie’s rapid growth.카지노
Lotte currently has two pitchers, Na Gyun-ahn and Park Se-woong, in the national team. It will be interesting to see who else from Lotte will be able to earn the flag.