Na said that when he sees himself in the dugout, he makes jokes like this. This may sound like an attempt to pressure him, but Na said, “I feel a sense of responsibility,” as if he knew what Lee meant. “I’m not joking, I really do,” Lee said with a smile.스포츠토토
Na Sung-bum, who hit a come-from-behind two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning against LG at Jamsil Stadium on Sunday, shared a snippet of his conversation with Lee. “The coach said that too. He seems to be under too much pressure,” Na said with a smile. That’s why he said his face was dark. After swinging and striking out in a strange way, the coach seems to have seen him do that. He said it was okay and said, “Think of it like that if you can’t hit it, you’ll lose. Play it comfortably.” He said, “I’m just joking, but when I hear it, I feel responsible.”
He said, “I want to repay you a lot because the coach always trusts me and sends me out, and believes me consistently, but I don’t think I did. Isn’t today an important game? I feel good because I feel like I’m repaying my faith in such an important game.”
Ahead of Thursday’s game, the team asked its coach Lee Bum-ho what he meant by the joke, not a joke. “They are the same as any other team. If the central lineup is not hit hard, they lose. I think I told him clearly. That was how I felt. If you and Socrates are not hit hard, you will lose. I told him exactly how I feel. He said, “If you hit hard, you will lose. If you hit hard, it doesn’t matter if you lose, so don’t worry and hit hard.”
The phrase “If Na Sung-bum fails, he loses.” “I left No. 4 to you because no player in my team is better at hitting, but if he fails, no other player would have been able to hit it. That’s why I said this in the sense that we should not be afraid,” Lee said, stressing his belief in Na Sung-bum.
Furthermore, it also expressed hope that the veteran would take the center of the team. With Choi Hyung-woo out due to injury, I think other players’ hearts will be easier if captain Na Sung-beom solves the game. Coach Lee Bum-ho said, “The winning game is heavy because the seniors play it. Even if it’s because of the weight, the team can go stably if the seniors play when it’s important. It’s best if the players play it and the seniors support it from behind.”
Na Sung-bum continued to meet Lee’s expectations on Wednesday. He had a hit from the first at-bat in the second inning, and hit a tying solo home run in the fifth inning when his team was losing 0-1.
As a leadoff hitter in the fifth inning, he overcame a 0-2 disadvantage in ball count and hit a home run. Son Joo-young’s three-pitch curveball came into the strike zone, and Na Sung-bum sent the ball flying. With a batting speed of 176.2 kilometers per hour, it became a 134.6 meter home run that track man estimated flying distance. Na Sung-bum announced a perfect revival with home runs in three consecutive games from the game against Kiwoom on Saturday to the game against LG on Sunday.
Kia finished the game with a 14-4 victory over LG on Thursday and maintained a 5.5 game gap with second-ranked Samsung. LG dropped from second to third. “As all the players are well aware of the importance of this series, I believe we have achieved a valuable result of victory,” Lee said after the game. “Despite the large number of pitches, starting pitcher Lauer took charge of five innings, providing a good stepping stone to our team’s victory. There were many pitches, but I felt the power and spirit of the pitch. Congratulations on your first win in the KBO League.”
“When hitting, all hitters performed well. It was a game where everyone played well, including Na Sung-bum’s tiebreaking home run, Kim Sun-bin who scored an RBI single after a tenacious game, and Han Jun-su’s two-run timely hit and Kim Do-young’s grand slam. Congratulations on Kim’s 2,000-base hit.”