He gained trust from the coach last year and secured many opportunities, but failed to secure the position as the main shortstop in the end. Despite limited opportunities, he turned himself into an outfielder this season, and this decision is becoming a far greater-than-expected move.
Lee Yoo-chan has played in 77 games this season with a batting average of 0.309, three home runs, 17 RBIs, 30 runs and 13 steals, an on-base percentage of 0.384, a slugging percentage of 0.414 and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.798.토토사이트
Notably, he has a batting average of 0.556 in August. He has posted multi-hits in four of the five games he started, displaying his batting performance as hot as it is in hot weather.
There was one big inflection point where he turned into an outfielder. In the following year when he was nominated by Doosan in the second round of the fifth round in 2017, he made his debut in the first division and played six seasons as a pro, but mostly played as an infielder. He played in one game (two innings) as a left fielder in 2022, but this year is the first time he played as an outfielder in earnest.
It was of great help that he practiced defense in the outfield for fun. Lee, who struggled with shortstop in the last season, gave Lee many chances from the beginning of the season, but he failed to succeed and was outspoken in criticizing shortstop candidates including Lee. In this season, he nailed Park Joon-young as his main shortstop from the beginning, but Lee Yoo-chan also had an opportunity due to his unexpected injury. In the aftermath of Park’s injury, Lee played 31 games (109 ⅔ innings) as second baseman, 16 games (103 innings) as third baseman, and 14 games (71 innings) as shortstop. Despite this, Lee targeted shortstop players in their 20s once again. He felt frustrated that he rarely got a chance.
However, there was a gap in the field in the process of replacing foreign hitters, and Lee started Lee Yoo-chan as the first outfielder since his debut in the pro league on April 23. His new attempt led to a huge success. Lee Yoo-chan, who was in charge of the first batter, hit his first leadoff home run, leaving a strong impression on Lee.
Since then, he has completely changed in 14 games with a batting average of 0.380 (19 hits in 50 at-bats), two home runs, 10 RBIs, nine runs and four steals, an on-base percentage of 0.429, a slugging percentage of 0.580 and an OPS of 1.009.
Lee Yoo-chan, who showed a significant change in his at-bat with his outfielder transformation, swung his bat even hotter in August. In the match against Kiwoom on the 3rd, he even hit his 98th ground home run against Enmanuel Heysus. Coincidentally, he scored his first home run with his outfielder transformation, and once again took it away from the best pitcher in the league.
Lee Yoo-chan recently met with Star News at Jamsil Stadium and said, “Rather than saying that the batting is good or bad, I think the batting is bad and if I enter the batter’s box, I can’t help but shrink and lose confidence,” adding, “Whether or not there is a hit, I think it’s my first time at bat and I think it’s leading to a good result.”
He didn’t give any special meaning to outfielder transformation. However, he thought it important that he was getting more opportunities. “Whether you are outfielder or infielder, it is important to play more games. I don’t put much emphasis on position. I think that if you play in the outfield, you will get hit in the infield, and if you play in the infield, you will get hit in the infield,” he said calmly.
There are people who help a lot. There is Jung Soo-bin, the best outfielder representing the KBO, and Jo Soo-bin, who is also a competitor but is helping a lot. “Since it’s a new position, I’m asking a lot of (Jeong) Soo-bin, (Cho) Ha-yong, and (Kim) Jae-hwan,” Lee Yoo-chan said. “In particular, I’m getting a lot of help from him on defense positions and how to follow the ball.”
He also nodded that he had grown to the next level after transforming into an outfielder. “I gained a lot of confidence. If I play as if I’m going out for offense, I’ll be at the batter’s box more aggressively and confidently. I think those thoughts have a more positive effect,” he said.