Lotte’s batting line is solid. Despite the vacancy of Lee Dae-ho, who retired after a spectacular finale in his career last year, he has been able to build a more organized lineup than before. In the free agent market, they recruited catcher Kang-Nam Yoo and shortstop Jin-Hyeok Noh. The purpose of recruiting the two players is to strengthen the defense, but they can expect a certain role in the other line.
From the viewpoint of hitting coach Park Heung-sik, the current core veteran players and some new players must be well harmonized to form the optimal batting order combination. I 안전놀이터have some ideas in my head, but I have to consider both the physical condition of the players and their defensive positions.
The most important issue now is Han Dong-hee’s position, which coach Park Heung-sik has already marked as ‘post Lee Dae-ho’. In a situation where he has already been knocked out as the number 4 hitter, the key is which position he plays.
Third baseman Han Dong-hee was the ideal growth direction Lotte expected. Han Dong-hee’s hitting potential was well known, and he showed off his skills at the plate starting in 2020. In the process, he thought that defensive power was a tax to some extent.
However, last year, Han Dong-hee was sidelined due to a hamstring injury and gained weight, which led to a deterioration in defensive power. The skeptical gaze toward third baseman Han Dong-hee rose to the surface in earnest from this point on. Even inside the club, I couldn’t help but worry about Han Dong-hee’s defensive position. In order to maximize Han Dong-hee’s hitting, he also considered converting to first base and conducted first baseman training. And these worries continue to the Guam spring camp.
However, Han Dong-hee is determined to become a third baseman. He is digesting both defensive early work and extra training without complaining. In particular, in the case of extra training, players can choose the part they want, and Han Dong-hee is constantly volunteering for defensive extra training. On the 6th, when he started the second turn, he did early work, and on the 7th, he did extra defense training.
Han Dong-hee, who has already lost 10 kg and is heading to the camp, is eager for defense training. “I have to do defensive training anyway,” he said. He has to do it even though it’s hard and he has to get better. He knows that defense is lacking, and he thought about taking a lot of defense training, so I think that if he does a lot, he will get used to his body and be able to do it more accurately.”
And regarding weight loss, he was clearly aware of the problem, saying, “I gained a lot of weight due to an injury last year, and I couldn’t run because of it.” Training coach Kim Hyun-wook also said, “I heard about last year’s failures, such as why he gained weight, why he got injured, and why he recovered better. He said it was enough to know, and he would have his own plan, so I support him,” he said.
But in the end, it has to be proven with practical results. Han Dong-hee’s existence is great, but it can’t be seen as solid. The potential of Kim Min-soo, a competitor for the same position, is also highly evaluated by coach Park Heung-sik. Coach Park said, “Kim Min-soo’s potential is also considerable. If she shows her defensive power, one way to focus on batting Han Dong-hee from first base can be one way to explain,” he explained. In the end, because there is a competition target, Han Dong-hee cannot be completely relieved.
Han Dong-hee, who was evaluated as a ‘Geopo 3rd baseman lumber’, will be able to grow and settle down as a Geopo as everyone expects. This year is expected to be the watershed season.