Professional baseball player Kim Tae-hoon of the Samsung Lions hit an unforgettable dramatic home run, leading the team to a seventh consecutive victory.

Samsung achieved a comeback victory of 6-4 against LG in a game held at Seoul's Jamsil Stadium on the 1st. Kim Tae-hoon hit a crucial game-winning home run.

Samsung saw their first batter Koo Ja-wook strike out in the 8th inning while trailing 3-4. A pinch hitter, Lee Seong-kyu, was out on a fly ball to left field. After two outs, Yang Do-geun reached base with a single to center. Kim Tae-hoon stepped in as a pinch hitter at Lee Jae-hyun's plate.

After hitting a foul ball on the first pitch, Kim Tae-hoon hit a change-up (133.3 km) on the second pitch for a two-run homer over the right field fence. As he rounded the bases after his home run, a joyful smile spread across his face. In the 9th inning, with one out and runners on first and second, Koo Ja-wook extended the lead to 6-4 with a one-run double, while closer Lee Ho-seong recorded a save to secure the win.

After the game, Manager Park Jin-man praised, "Kim Tae-hoon is a left-handed batter who excels against fast pitches, and I wanted to expect a big hit when I sent him in as a pinch hitter, and he delivered the best outcome. It seems he gave a great gift to many traveling fans."

After the game, Kim Tae-hoon said, "Honestly, I didn't think a day like this would come in my life. I've had many tough times, but after checking that it went over, I was very happy to have come back and achieved the comeback, so I couldn't hide it."

What kind of day could this be? Kim Tae-hoon noted, "I've had many hard days because I've spent more time in the second team than in the first team, but if you endure, opportunities will come. I kept hearing to endure, and now that I've endured, a day like this where I hit a home run has come, and I’m very happy." He added, "I have to perform well in the second team to be promoted to the first team, so I've continued to practice to show a good performance."

Going in as a pinch hitter, he found Manager Park Jin-man's advice very helpful. Kim Tae-hoon said, "Before going to the plate, the manager called me over and told me, 'Don't be late, hit from the front.' The instruction to 'hit from the front' was very comforting for me. It wasn’t 'hit well, get a hit,' but rather 'hit from the front,' and since I was hitting from the front, it went well, and good results came out."

He added, "The ball was really fast, so it wasn't easy to wait and hit; I tried to hit from the front, and luckily it went over."

Could he sense a home run coming? Kim Tae-hoon said, "I didn't think it would go over. I had never hit a home run at Jamsil, so I always heard it was far. I hit it well, but while running, I thought, 'Will it go over?' But once I looked and confirmed it had gone over, I smiled at that point."

With Kim Tae-hoon's dramatic two-run homer, Samsung reached a seventh consecutive victory for the first time in 10 years. Kim Tae-hoon said, "If we do well on Tuesday and achieve an eighth consecutive win, that would be even better. The atmosphere is good, so I believe we'll have a good game on Tuesday."

He continued, "To be honest, I hit well today, but I still have a lot of room for improvement, so I plan to prepare a lot and try to make the most of future opportunities."

Kim Tae-hoon, who was selected by the KT Wiz in the second round, 53rd overall, during the 2015 rookie draft, had a career-high season in 2021 with a batting average of .230 (20 hits in 87 at-bats) with 1 home run and 6 RBIs. He transferred to Samsung as a compensation player for Kim Sang-su, a free agent. He transferred from KT to Samsung as a compensation player for Kim Sang-su before the 2023 season.

Wearing a Samsung uniform in the 2023 season, he recorded a batting average of .095 (2 hits in 21 at-bats) over 11 games, and in the 2024 season, a batting average of .200 (4 hits in 20 at-bats) over 12 games. He spent more time in the second team and won the batting title in last year's Futures League with a batting average of .320.

This season, before this game, he had recorded 2 hits in 4 at-bats over 3 games. On the 30th, he started as a designated hitter against LG, recording 1 hit in 2 at-bats. He hit a thrilling two-run homer at a time when a long hit was needed. This was his first home run in 1,450 days since hitting one against Hanwha on June 12, 2021, during his time with KT.

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