The Lotte Giants got the return they needed from Han Dong-hee (24), but this time it was Noh Jin-hyuk (34) who dropped out of the lineup.
Prior to their game against the resigned Hanwha Eagles on Friday, Lotte removed Noh Jin-hyuk, Kim Kang-hyun, and Lee Jung-geun from the roster and added Han Dong-hee, Shin Jeong-rak, and Son Sung-bin. Lotte head coach Larry Sutton said, “Han Dong-hee is looking much better than he did 10 days ago when he went to the Futures (second team). “She’s coming in for Noh Jin-hyuk, who complained of side pain while taking batting practice today. He has played a lot of games this season and is tired. We want to give him time to recover first.”
For Lotte, Han Dong-hee’s return is a welcome one. After slumping to a .169 batting average in April, Han seemed to find her groove in May (batting .278), but was sent down to the Futures team as Sutton felt she needed to go through an adjustment period to exceed the club’s expectations. In eight games in the Futures League, Han hit .379 with one home run and three RBIs.메이저놀이터
“I know she worked really hard in the Future League,” Sutton said. “Not just hard, but she worked on a lot of little things, from her hitting to her approach to her mechanics. “You could say she was hitting well before she was cut from the first team roster, but she needed to make some adjustments to reduce the ups and downs. Han is a player who cares a lot about the team’s victory. So the pressure, frustration, and disappointment of the results must have been even greater. We wanted to give her time to mentally reset.”
On the other hand, Noh’s absence will be felt. Noh hit .273 with three home runs and 25 RBIs in 51 games this season, and his clutch ability was key to Lotte’s early-season surge. “I hope his pain doesn’t lead to a major injury,” Sutton said.