Professional baseball player Son Ho-young (31) of the Lotte Giants announced his resurgence with a debut performance of 5 hits in a game. Compared to last year, when he excelled as a trade jackpot, his performance has declined, but with the help of hitting coach Lim Hoon (40), he has started to rebound.

On the 24th, Son Ho-young led Lotte to an 8-6 comeback victory against the Hanwha Eagles in an away game in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Hanwha Life Park in Daejeon, starting as the 9th batter and third baseman, with a total of 5 hits in 5 at-bats, including a game-winner in the 10th inning. Lotte returned to 2nd place in just one day.

Against Hanwha's starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, Son Ho-young opened the scoring with a single to left field in his first at-bat in the 3rd inning and achieved a multi-hit with a single to center in the 5th inning. In the 7th inning, trailing 3-6 with no outs and a runner on first base, he hit a double over the left fielder's head off Hanwha's relief pitcher Park Sang-won, setting the stage for the tying run.

In the 8th inning, Son Ho-young recorded his 4th hit with a single off Hanwha's setup man Han Seung-hyeok but was not satisfied with that. In the 10th inning, with the score tied at 6-6 and one out, he hit a 2-RBI single off Hanwha's relief pitcher Kim Jong-soo after hitting a fastball that was high and out of the zone on a 1-2 count, knocking it over the infield's advancing defense and falling in front of the center fielder for the game-winning hit.

After the game, Son Ho-young said, "I felt that the atmosphere would change when our lead-off man (Na) Seung-yeob got on base in the 10th. Then (Yoo) Kang-nam's perfect sacrifice bunt helped me get to the game-winner. It really is hard to lay down a bunt in a 1st and 2nd base situation, so I want to thank Kang-nam for that," expressing special gratitude to Yoo Kang-nam for setting up the chance for the game-winner.

Yoo Kang-nam faced a sacrifice bunt in the 10th with no outs and runners on 1st and 2nd but after a foul on the first pitch, successfully executed a sacrifice bunt down the third base line on the second pitch. As he walked into the third-base dugout, he even applauded himself. Son Ho-young, who was preparing at the plate and missed this moment, said, "I understand what he’s feeling. There are times when a bunt feels better than a hit, and I think that might be the feeling he had."

‘Captain’ Jeon Jun-woo also encouraged the players from behind the scenes, urging them to step up. Son Ho-young mentioned, "Jun-woo is always cheering us on before games. Today, too, in the 10th, he gathered everyone around and said a word. He mentioned that the atmosphere could change due to the players, so we needed to make sure to step up today. I think that spirit helped players like (Na) Seung-yeob focus more."

After being traded from LG to Lotte last year and stepping up as the starting third baseman, Son Ho-young had an impressive performance with a batting average of .317 (126 hits in 398 at-bats), 18 home runs, 78 RBIs, and an OPS of .892 over 102 games. He missed the required at-bats due to two hamstring injuries in April and May but opened a glorious path in his baseball life as Lotte's trade jackpot.

However, leading up to this game, he struggled this season with a batting average of .233 (28 hits in 120 at-bats), 2 home runs, 17 RBIs, and an OPS of .599 over 35 games. He also had a three-week injury hiatus due to a minor strain in his internal oblique muscle in early April. However, after showing signs of resurgence with two hits in games against LG on the 20th and 22nd, he exploded with 5 hits in this game, raising his seasonal batting average to .264 by a significant margin of .031.

Son Ho-young expressed his gratitude, saying, "I am thankful to the manager and coaches for letting me play. I especially owe a lot to Coach Lim Hoon. I tend not to speak much, but whenever my hitting is off, he always approaches me first to talk. I want to take this opportunity to express my thanks to Coach Lim Hoon." Son Ho-young and Lim Hoon first met during their time at LG and continued their connection at Lotte. Since Coach Lim moved to Lotte last year and Son Ho-young was also traded, they are now together as a coach and player in two teams.

In an effort to escape from his hitting struggles, Son Ho-young reduced his thoughts and also changed his daily habits. He mentioned he even stopped eating noodles at night and said, "I hope today serves as an opportunity for my resurgence," adding, "The team is doing well, so I cannot fall behind alone. I must keep up from behind."

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