“It’s an honor to be mentioned with the national hitter and major leaguer.”
Lee Jeong-hoo (Kiwoom Heroes) started as a center fielder in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League match against the LG Twins held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 8th and scored 2 hits, 3 RBIs and 2 points in 4 at-bats. Kiwoom recorded a 13-0 victory with all starting hits and 20 hits.메이저놀이터
From the first inning, Lee Jung-hoo had a chance to score. Kim Jun-Wan and Kim Hye-Sung hit and went out, becoming 1st and 3rd base safely. Lee Jung-hoo hit Yoon-shik Kim’s four-seam fastball and hit a double at the right time with 2 RBIs going through the middle left. Afterwards, he advanced to third base with Edison Russell’s hit and scored on Lee Hyeong-jong’s sacrifice fly.
Lee Jung-hoo scored another run in the bottom of the 4th inning. In the 2nd out 1st base situation, he hit Kim Yun-shik’s slider. The ball that passed through the first and second bases rolled all the way to the fence. First base runner Kim Hye-seong came home and Lee Jung-hoo ran to third base.
Lee Jung-hoo retired with a fly ball to right field in his fourth at-bat at the bottom of the 6th inning, and ended the game at the end of the 7th inning by replacing Lim Byung-wook with a pinch hit.
Lee Jung-hoo did not have a good hitting feeling at the beginning of the season. However, his sense of hitting began to revive before Jamsil LG 3 consecutive matches on May 9-11 and Gocheok NC Dinos on 12-14. He recently hit 11 consecutive games and raised his batting average to 0.294. His .30 batting average was right in front of his eyes.
After the game, Lee Jung-hoo said, “The feeling of hitting has been good since before. Now, as the results continue to follow, it seems to be looking good. I think I need to pay attention to maintain a good feeling.”
Lee Jung-hoo scored 500 RBIs in his career with 2 RBIs and a timely double at the end of the 1st inning. It is the 110th record in KBO history. Also, he became the third youngest player to reach 500 RBIs after coach Lee Seung-yeop (Doosan Bears) and Kim Ha-seong (San Diego Padres). Lee Seung-yeop set a record of 500 RBIs at 23 years, 8 months and 1 day, Kim Ha-seong at 24 years, 8 months and 14 days, and Lee Jeong-hoo at 24 years, 9 months and 19 days.
Lee Jung-hoo said, “RBIs cannot be recorded by one person. Runners in front of you can score runs. In today’s game, (Kim) Jun-wan hyung and (Kim) Hye-seong reached base from the first inning, so that such a record can be set. That’s it. I’m grateful to the two of them.”
“It’s meaningful. From the time I was a rookie to the third year, I almost played the role of a table setter. At the time, I was a type that could not be called a mid- to long-distance hitter. From the age of 23, my long hitting power increased and I started to score a lot of RBIs while playing the role of the center line. It is an honor to be mentioned along with a national hitter and a major leaguer.”
[Kiwoom Lee Jung-hoo is hitting 2 RBIs at the end of the 1st inning against LG in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 8th.