Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyung gave a generous evaluation of catcher Son Sung-bin. Manager Kim, a former catcher and famous for his extremely difficult eyes on the catcher, praised Son’s potential for development.메이저놀이터
Lotte is facing a major turning point this season due to the surgery of its free agent catcher Yoo Kang-nam. For now, manager Kim is deploying two catchers, Son Seong-bin and Cho In-geun, to the mound. It is hard to say which player is ahead of others.
In the meantime, Son made a powerful hit. He hit a three-run shot that sealed his victory against the NC Dinos on June 7. It was his fourth homer in a long time since his third homer against the KT Wiz on June 20. At that time, manager Kim showed a “daddy smile” to Son entering the dugout, drawing keen attention from the public. He usually doesn’t express his feelings by smiling no matter how happy he is, but it was different to Son.
Director Kim Tae-hyung shares high fives with Son Sung-bin.
“I smiled as if my blind man had grabbed the door,” Kim said jokingly. He then conveyed his sincere feelings. “I think he is a player who can become Lotte’s main catcher from now on. I wanted him to have confidence in the batter’s box with just one homer,” Kim said, explaining why he smiled “Daddy’s smile.”
Coach Kim said, “There are still some points to be supplemented. The side where you hit the ball is narrow. The bat has to stick to the ball, but it turns over to the far side. It will be hard to fix it because it is in the season, but I think it will be okay if we go in with confidence and consider the type of pitcher.”
Perhaps due to Kim’s remarks, Son hit a home run that sounded like lightning in the game against KT on Wednesday. With 1B1S in the third inning, KT starter Benjamin’s ball was perfectly controlled and went in. However, Son stuck the ball to his body, placed the bat one timing faster, and swung over the left fence with a technical hit. It was similar to the powerful homerun displayed by Park Byung-ho (Samsung) during his heyday. It was Son’s first home run in two consecutive games.
As a catcher, defense is more important than hitting. In particular, hard work is needed to appeal to Kim. Still, Kim said, “The defense has improved a lot compared to last fall. I was nervous about both the catch and the blocking, but now many of those parts have disappeared. What you feel is important for a lead. Coach Kang Sung-woo will help you a lot.”