A trade acquisition who moved from the Lotte Giants to the KT Wiz two years ago has prepared to reveal his presence again.
Lee Ho-yeon started as the 8th first baseman in the 7th game of the season against the Lotte Giants at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 10th, hitting 2 hits (1 home run), 2 RBIs, and 2 runs in 5 at-bats, leading his team to a resounding 12-3 victory.
After getting settled with a ground ball at first base in the bottom of the 2nd inning, Lee Ho-yeon appeared as the lead-off batter in the bottom of the 4th inning, which was ahead 5-3, and launched a solo home run. He targeted a slider (130 km) from Lotte's starting pitcher Park Se-woong at a ball count of 1B-1S and hit a home run that traveled 112.6 meters. This was his 6th personal home run after a remarkable 684 days since the game against the Suwon LG Twins on July 27, 2023.
In his third at-bat, the team batting stood out. In the bottom of the 5th inning, with no outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd while leading 7-3, he calmly sent a ground ball to the second baseman, aiding the runner Lee Jeong-hoon in scoring.
Lee Ho-yeon's performance did not end there. In the bottom of the 7th inning, with a chance of 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd while leading 8-3, after watching the first pitch strike thrown by Lotte's Song Jae-young, he hit a 128 km slider on the second pitch for a hit in front of the center fielder. At that moment, center fielder Jang Du-seong made a critical error, allowing both runners on base to score, and Lee Ho-yeon reached 3rd base after passing 2nd. He scored on Oh Yun-seok's double, contributing to the final score.
Lee Ho-yeon, who was finally registered in the 1st team on the 5th, has been gaining momentum with hits in 3 consecutive games, and on this day, he achieved 2 hits including a home run, marking his first multi-hit game in a single match in 429 days since the game against the LG Twins on April 7 of last year.
After the game, Lee Ho-yeon said, "I joined the first team a little later than I personally expected this season. The support from the club during this process was significant. I am happy that the team won and I want to continue this hitting feeling going forward."
Lee Ho-yeon, who graduated from Gwangju Ilgo High School and Sungkyunkwan University, was selected by Lotte in the 2nd round, 6th pick of the rookie draft in 2018, and moved to KT through a 1-for-1 trade with left-handed pitcher Shim Jae-min, prioritized by KT in May 2023.
Hailed as an offensive infielder, Lee Ho-yeon made headlines in his first year after the trade with a batting average of .278, 3 home runs, and 17 RBIs in 85 games, raising expectations for a successful trade story. However, due to injuries and struggles last year, he only registered 27 games in the 1st team with a batting average of .146, and this year, it wasn't until June that he was called up by manager Lee Kang-cheol after starting in the Futures League.
Lee Ho-yeon's season begins now. Coincidentally, he faced his former team, Lotte, and played his best game of the season, significantly boosting his momentum. He expressed his eagerness, saying, "I am playing baseball with a desperate heart to contribute to the team."
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