“I think I felt a lot of stress and pressure.”

Last year, Lotte lost the Geopo hitter when ‘Joseon’s fourth hitter’ Lee Dae-ho (41) retired, but ‘Post Lee Dae-ho’ Han Dong-hee (24) ), I found hope.스포츠토토

Han Dong-hee joined Lotte as the first choice in 2018, and in 2020 he recorded a batting average of .278, 17 homers and 67 RBIs, becoming a key player in the first team. Marking 14 home runs and 65 RBIs, he recorded a batting average of 30% for the first time in his life, showing a gradual growth.

Even Lee Dae-ho has retired. When Lee Dae-ho left Lotte, he pointed to Han Dong-hee as the number one successor to his generation. So, it is true that the expectations for Han Dong-hee this year were higher than ever.

However, Han Dong-hee is facing the worst ordeal after joining the pros with a batting average of .217, 4 home runs and 28 RBIs in 77 games this year. In the end, Lotte canceled Han Dong-hee from the first team entry on the 7th. This year alone, it’s already the second 2nd round.

The mind of the command tower looking at Han Dong-hee is also complicated. Regarding sending Han Dong-hee to the 2nd team ahead of the match against Gocheok Kiwoom on the 8th, Lotte coach Larry Sutton said, “Han Dong-hee has struggled throughout this season without being released from the attack. But it didn’t go on consistently,” he said.

In fact, Han Dong-hee was a player who destroyed the stage of the second team early enough to record a batting average of .438, 15 homers, and 43 RBIs in the second team during his rookie days. It is also the reason why he received many opportunities in the first team. Even when he briefly went down to the second team this year, he had a batting average of .379, one home run, and three RBIs.

If so, what should Han Dong-hee do in the 2nd team? Coach Sutton said, “It is necessary to practice hitting from the shortstop to the right field rather than going down to the second team and pulling. I hope to have mental training with good concentration in defense.” I believe that he will work hard in the second team and come up because he is a player who has done it.”

Sutton added, “Han Dong-hee is a player who has the ability to control the strike zone when hitting well, and is also a player who consistently produces strong batting balls regardless of the result. I hope he regains that form.”

Han Dong-hee is a player who has received a lot of attention and expectations as a promising geopo from the time he joined Lotte. It’s already been 6 years as a professional this year. But why did he face such an ordeal?

Sutton said, “Han Dong-hee seems to have felt a lot of stress and pressure on his own.” I had to take a closer approach, but I tried harder and better, so the results weren’t good.”

Even from Sutton’s point of view, Han Dong-hee sees no reason to go the ‘post-Lee Dae-ho’ path. “We don’t want Han Dong-hee to be ‘post-Lee Dae-ho’, but we want him to be the best version of Han Dong-hee. I told the player that,” Sutton said. When I hear it, I have no choice but to be conscious,” he said, understanding the stress and pressure Han Dong-hee must have felt.

Indeed, how much time should Han Dong-hee spend in the 2nd Army to have a consultation? Sutton hasn’t set a timeframe yet. “I need time first. I need to put it down a little mentally. I need to take the amount of training I need to make sure in the necessary areas,” Sutton said. He said he wouldn’t be in a hurry.

Maybe the time has come that could be the biggest turning point in Han Dong-hee’s baseball life. Now is the time to get out of the pressure of ‘post-Lee Dae-ho’ and regain the ‘real Han Dong-hee’.