“I came to know that I really worked hard for several decades. And I felt that I had really good skills.”
Even superstars cannot escape trials. One day, you will go through a slump and spend a sluggish season due to a long slump. Because baseball is also played by people after all, mistakes and wrong judgments are made. But a true superstar gets something out of a slump and eventually rises higher. Kiwoom Lee Jung-hoo (25) is going through this process at the beginning of this season.
Batting average 0.231 OPS 0.686 until the match against LG in Jamsil on the 10th. No matter how early in the season, everyone would say Lee Jung-hoo’s grades were lies. Since his debut, he has never dropped below a batting average of 0.320 OPS or 0.810. It is a slump at the beginning of the season that is more incomprehensible as it wielded a hard hit in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March.
Lee Jeong-hoo of Kiwoom goes to the ground to prepare for a bat in the first inning in the 2023 professional baseball match between SSG Landers and Kiwoom Heroes held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 23rd. . 2023.04.23.Incheon | Reporter Kang Young-jo kanjo@sportsseoul.com
It was not an effect without a cause. Looking at the major leagues more than last winter, the batting mechanic was extensively revised. In terms of lower body movement, he went back to before the WBC, but his position with the bat before striking was completely different. Ultimately, I wanted to hit the ball better with a more streamlined swing.
However, the modification of the hitting mechanic led to a terrible slump after the opening. I faced confusion as the starting point and trajectory of the swing all changed from the view of the ball. The pioneering eye, which picked out strikes and balls like a ghost, shook along with the change in vision. The precision with which he made contact with almost every ball that came into the strike zone has also become dull, resulting in a sharp increase in missed swings. Being driven into a corner, there was an unimaginable scene of bunting from 1st base.
However, no one thinks Lee Jung-hoo will finish the season like this. During the past 6 seasons, I went through big and small trials, but I always overcame them. Because he overcame his difficulties each time, he grew every year and rose to become the best player representing Korean baseball. He also learned the wisdom to deal with difficulties naturally.
The starting point could be the LG match in Jamsil on the 10th. Lee Jung-hoo hit consecutively in the third and fourth at-bats of the day. In particular, in the fourth at-bat in the top of the 7th inning, he hit a timely hit with 2 RBIs, contributing to a big inning with 9 runs in the top of the 7th inning. In his final at-bat, in the top of the eighth, he walked and scored after going on base.
Lee Jeong-hoo of Kiwoom cheers as he advances to third base while defending other runners after hitting a double with 2 outs, 1st and 2nd base, 2 RBIs in the beginning of the 7th inning against LG in the 2023 KBO League held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 9th. 2023. 5. 9. Jamsil | Reporter Choi Seung-seop thunder@sportsseoul.com
After the game, Lee Jung-hoo said of the struggles at the beginning of the season, “I have surpassed the level of being difficult. So I didn’t get stressed and just felt stuffy,” he said. “Looking back, I think I was too faithful to my routine. I kept insisting on the things I did when I was good in order to return to the way I was when I was good. So it seems to have continued to flow in a worse direction.”
I thought about it over and over and found a breakthrough through meeting Ja-wook Koo. Lee Jung-hoo said, “Last week, I had a meal with Ja-wook hyung in Daegu. Ja-wook said, ‘Why do you keep thinking about the good things last year? Just because he did this last year, there is no guarantee that he will do the same this year. Your body has already changed from last year. The balance is also not what it was last year. I have to train according to my body this year, otherwise the season will end after only doing what I did before. I did too,’ he advised. After hearing that, I am changing my training method one by one.”
According to Ja-wook Koo, the routine was changed. Along the way, he also became more aware of his hitting mechanics. I also realized the reason why I struggled when I returned from my off-season hitting mechanic to my own hitting mechanic until last year.
Lee Jung-hoo said, “I think it was a good experience to change the batting form in the winter. I came back to the previous batting form with the desire to go with the form that I can hit most comfortably, but I think that the things I learned and trained in the winter remain in it.” will be. As the position of looking at the ball changes, the starting point has changed. He diagnosed himself as the cause of a lot of miss swings.”
Kiwoom Heroes Lee Jung-hoo hits 2 RBIs against LG Yoo Young-chan with 1 out 2-3 bases in the beginning of the 7th inning against the LG Twins in the 2023 KBO League held at Jamsil Stadium on the 10th. 2023. 5. 10. Jamsil | Reporter Park Jin-up upandup@sportsseoul.com
He said, “As I went back to my original batting form, I realized that I had worked really hard for several decades. And I knew he had really good skills too. This is the part that I was able to know because I had done something else,” he said. “As a result, I became convinced that I was not wrong. I haven’t fully come back yet, but since yesterday’s game,메이저사이트 I’ve had long hits, and I feel like I’m adjusting one by one.”
Changing the hitting mechanic is a temporary loss. But in the long run, it can be beneficial. Every baseball player changes their hitting mechanics at least once and gains a lot from it. For Lee Jung-hoo, that point was now.
Not only did I get to know myself better, I also learned the right way to hit. As much as you have confidence, you can leap higher as you originally intended. That’s how we are taking the starting point of the rebound.