The bat of Lee Sung-kyu (outfielder), the “finisher” of the Samsung Lions in professional baseball, exploded.
Lee Sung-kyu, a former home run king of Futures, led the attack with three hits, one RBI and two runs in four at-bats, hitting a solo arch that determines the game in the eighth inning with a 3-0 lead in the home game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 30th.업소알바
Samsung beat Kiwoom 4-2 with starter Danny Reyes’ perfect pitching in seven scoreless innings and Lee Sung-kyu’s bat. Four consecutive losses have ended since the game against Lotte in Sajik on the 25th. Manager Park Jin-man praised Lee Sung-kyu, who hit two consecutive home runs, for his stellar performance in the offense.
Lee Seong-gyu, who had three hits including a home run for two consecutive days, said, “Honestly, I haven’t had a good batting performance lately. I wasn’t very satisfied with my balance during the training. Luckily, I had one hit each, and I started getting hit well.”
“Batting coach Lee Jin-young emphasizes, ‘You have to hit the ball to the center of the bat because you are strong.’ Bae Young-sup, batting assistant coach, has helped me a lot in terms of psychology,” he said in expressing his gratitude.
Lee Seong-gyu and Park Seung-joo hit a fastball (140 km) at the end of the full count with one out in the eighth inning with a 3-0 lead. It was the ninth time of the season. “I needed to score an additional point, but the timing was not right to respond to the opponent team’s pitcher’s fastball. It was good to hit the ball with the timing because there was a high possibility of a fastball coming in at the full count.” Lee Seong-gyu said.
Lee Seong-gyu, who is about to achieve double-digit home runs for the first time in four years since 2020, is likely to achieve 20 home runs at the current pace. “I don’t have any greed for home runs. I don’t want to be greedy, and I don’t mean I’m greedy,” he said. “If you do your best every time you play in a game, the result will come.”
He displayed impressive defense performance as well as offense. He made a jump catch on Ronnie Dawson’s big hit as the first batter in the fourth inning in front of the fence, easing the burden on starter Danny Reyes. “It wasn’t easy for a right fielder to handle it, but I made a jump catch at the end,” said Park Jae-hong, an MBC Sports Plus commentator who made a name for himself as a hotajun outfielder representing the league during his active career. He saved a double.
Lee Seong-gyu responded, “It was a hit so well that I only looked at (the ball) once and ran. It would have been difficult to catch it if I had kept watching it from the beginning and followed it. I got what my coach told me during the training.”
On December 28, Samsung agreed to a trade with KT to give Oh Jae-il to receive Park Byung-ho. Having transferred from Doosan to Samsung on a four-year deal worth 5 billion won (approx. Oh was a good guy before he was a good player. He gained trust from the team by taking care of his teammates.
Lee Seong-gyu said, “(Oh) Jae-il hyung came to our team and had a very good influence. He led the team atmosphere bright. He gave me a lot of advice and bought me meals often. He was such a great brother, but it was a pity that I couldn’t be with him anymore.”
“I haven’t talked much with him yet. He is a legendary hitter who hit 50 home runs in a season. I want to ask him a lot and learn from him.”
On the 27th, the KBO announced the fan voting list for each team that selects the “Best 12” to play at the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO All-Star Game. Lee Sung-kyu has been nominated as a Dream All-Star outfielder. “I’m so happy to be included in the All-Star Game,” he said with a big smile.
Lee Seong-gyu, who has never been invited to a party of stars since his debut, expressed his desire to be with his best friend Kim Won-joong (a pitcher for the Lotte Giants), a closing pitcher candidate for Dream All Star. “I often talked with Won-joong about ‘Let’s play on the same team someday,’ and I think this is an opportunity. I need the help of the fans,” he said.
Lastly, Lee Sung-kyu emphasized, “The biggest goal is to do well without injury for the rest of the season. There is a cycle in the season, so how to get through it is really important.”