Kiwoom Heroes Lee Hyung-jong (35) destroyed his former team, the LG Twins.
Lee Hyung-jong started as the 6th right fielder in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League showdown against LG at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 25th and recorded 1 hit and 2 RBIs in 3 at-bats.
Starting pitcher Ariel Furado did his part by allowing two runs in seven innings.
In the lineup, Choi Joo-hwan took the lead in the fourth inning with a come-from-behind three-run shot and a back-to-back home run by Bae Sang-kwon.스포츠토토
However, the game returned to square one when Kim Dong-wook, who followed Hurado in the bottom of the eighth inning, gave up a timely two-run tie to Hong Chang-ki.
He did not miss the opportunity Kiwoom took in the bottom of the eighth inning. After one out, Choi Joo-hwan got on base with a hit following Kim Hye-sung’s double and Song Sung-moon’s four pitches. Choi Joo-hwan’s hit fell into an ambiguous place between shortstop, left fielder and center fielder, and was lucky.
With the bases loaded with one out, Lee Hyung-jong appeared. LG also posted Kim Jin-sung, a must-win group.
Lee Hyung-jong hit Kim Jin-sung’s second fastball, making a timely hit with two RBIs. The score was 6-4. Kiwoom kept this lead to the end and won the game.
For Lee Hyung-jong, it was the first RBI and final hit in 133 days since the game against Lotte in Gocheok on April 14. After the interview after the game, Lee Hyung-jong was given a cool water shower.
Lee Hyung-jong, who met after the game, said, “I’ve never received it in my professional life, so I wanted to experience it, but my teammates did it for me like this.”
Regarding the timely hit situation, he said, “Kim Jin-sung has played against NC a lot. I was aiming for it because I threw a lot of folk balls, but I was embarrassed because the first fastball came in,” he said. “I thought it would be good to make contact, and if it doesn’t work, I had a chance, so I did it with the thought of not missing the fastball, but luckily it hit me.”
Lee’s professional career is in turmoil. Lee, who was famous as a pitcher when he was an amateur, joined LG as the first draft pick in 2008, but pitched in only two games in 2010. After announcing his voluntary withdrawal amid frequent injuries, Lee made a fresh start as a batter.
Since his debut as a batter in the first division of the 2016 season, he had to cry every year due to major and minor injuries. In the 2022 season, when he was about to transfer to Kiwoom, he played only 26 games.
Ahead of last season, he signed a four-year, two-billion-won Futures FA contract and moved from LG to Kiwoom. Introduced at the end of 2021, the Futures FA, which was implemented for only two years and disappeared, has four successful contracts, with Lee Hyung-jong the only multi-year contract and the biggest success story.
Lee Hyung-jong, who had a batting average of 0.215 with three home runs, 37 RBIs and 35 points in 99 games last year, suffered an injury again this year. He suffered a fracture after being hit in the left foot by a foul ball on April 21. He returned to the first team last month, but his condition did not improve. Eventually, he headed back to the second team and was called up on the 23rd.
The RBI came out for the first time in 133 days because it took a long time to leave.
“I think I did rehabilitation for eight years including surgery and injury after coming to the professional league,” Lee said. “I think I have more thoughts and feel weak (during rehabilitation). After coming back, I felt a lot of responsibility because the team was in a difficult situation. Actually, it was hard because I had to show something. I had a lot of thoughts.”
Still, he never gives up. Lee returned to his leg kick batting form as before. “I try to swing with confidence without regret. That’s my charm, but I haven’t been able to do that. It was an opportunity for me to organize my mind. I want to thank the coaching staff,” he said with a smile. “This season, when things don’t go well, I can’t do this again. I will think it’s a new experience,” he said, vowing to take another leap forward.
Kiwoom manager Hong Won-ki also encouraged, “Lee Hyung-jong must have suffered a lot, but I look forward to playing a big role in the future with today.”