Gearko. An adverb meaning “no matter what, always”. Kiwoom Heroes outfielder Lee Jung-hoo has restored his reputation as a three-hitter.
Lee started at third base against the KT Wiz in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Katie Wiz Park in Suwon on Nov. 11 and went 4-for-4 with three runs scored, three RBIs and two walks. Lee and fourth baseman Lee Hyung-jong (2-for-4) synergized in the middle of the order, helping Kiwoom to a 14-5 win and a share of eighth place.안전놀이터
Lee drove in his first four runs of the season with three doubles on the day, raising his season batting average to .304 (70-for-230) after hitting .292 the day before. Lee tripled for the first time in 58 games to open the season.
After drawing a walk with runners on first and second in the first inning, Lee came home on Lim Byung-wook’s double. In the second, he led off with a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Lee Hyung-jong’s double.
Lee doubled down the right field line with one out in the fourth inning to put runners on second and third, then scored on a double by Lee Hyung-jong. In the top of the sixth inning, Lee singled to left field with two outs, and in the top of the eighth, he doubled to right field again with runners on first and second.
After a prolonged hitting slump at the beginning of the season, which resulted in a monthly batting average of just 0.218 in April, Lee’s batting average returned to 0.305 in the second week of May. Lee had four consecutive two-hit multi-hit games from May 27 against Lotte to May 31 against Hanwha, raising his season average to 0.266.
He then found his groove in the month of June with a string of multi-hit games. Over a 10-game stretch in June, Lee had five multi-hit games and three games with three or more hits. His batting average through 10 games in June is a whopping .500, with half of them being hits. Lee’s hot hitting has completely silenced the concerns that surrounded him at the beginning of the season.
“I’ve never had a slump this long before. I learned a lot this time, so I can overcome it the next time I have a slump like this,” he said, adding that even the long slump was a learning experience. The slump came at an important time in the season ahead of overseas expansion. The positive thoughts that made him see it as an experience made him a third baseman again.