“At that time, I was not interested in baseball.”
The Lotte Giants won the Sajik Kiwoom match 5-2 on the 28th. With this, Lotte ran a 7-game winning streak. The last time Lotte won 7 consecutive wins was about 11 years ago. From June 21, 2012 Literature SK Exhibition to the 28th Sajik Hanwha Exhibition. On this day, the 7th consecutive win was 3956 days.
The factor of victory was that he scored 4 points with concentrated hits in the 2nd inning. In particular, after 2 deaths, the concentration hit exploded. In the bottom of the second inning, Rex Ahn Chi-hong’s consecutive hits and Roh Jin-hyeok’s sacrifice bunt gave Lotte a chance to get 2nd and 3rd base out. Kang-Nam Yoo’s hit in front of the center fielder came out and the runner on third base stepped home. However, second base runner An Chi-hong was out at home. The first run was taken, but the flow could be cut off with 2 companies and 1st base.
Nonetheless, Lotte continued the opportunity to run second out and second base with Lee Hak-joo’s right-handed hit, and Kim Min-seok raised the mood again. Kiwoom starter Choi Won-tae’s body slider was hit and a timely double hit the right fence. He ran away 2-0 and even stepped home when the follow-up Ahn Kwon-soo hit.
It was Kim Min-seok who got the chance to start as the 9th hitter center fielder after the game with Changwon NC on the 23rd. During his junior year at Whimoon High School, he boasted a high-sensitivity batting average of 5.44 and was nominated with the third overall pick in the first round of the rookie draft. It was the highest order for a hitter.
Even so, the professional wall was high. Through the last 27 days, his batting average was down to 1/6 and 3 li. Kim Min-seok blamed himself, saying, “I think I’ve become a defensive player.” Still, Kim Min-seok played the role of a solver at the most important moment of the day, and at the moment when the team was needed. He proved why he is a big rookie and the future of Lotte.
Born in 2004, Kim Min-seok already knew that Lotte’s last 7-game winning streak was 11 years ago. He said, “I knew that it was 7 consecutive wins in 11 years after looking at comments like yesterday. So he wanted to win today too.”
In 2012, 11 years ago, Kim Min-seok was 8 years old. He was in the second year of elementary school. Kim Min-seok looked back at the time, saying, “At that time, he was not interested in baseball.”
However, Kim Min-seok has now become Lotte’s future and a particularly cherished talent. He’s going through growing pains, but he’s also showing a star temperament that turns his expectations into results. Even though it is his first season as an outfielder, the outstanding outfielder Rain tells us that Kim Min-seok’s potential and talent are special. ㅋㅋㅋ벳
He said, “At first, I wanted to hit well like the other seniors, but now that I am the ninth batter, people around me say, ‘You get a hit or a walk, you’re best if you go on two bases, and it’s okay to go on one base.’ I tried to hit it, but I don’t hit the ball unless I hit it, and I think of getting on base as a priority,” he said. I think I have a lot of thoughts that I don’t want to give more.”
Kim Min-seok has been steadily surviving since joining the opening entry. Even when Hwang Seong-bin left due to a microfracture in his finger, he faithfully filled his void. After that, he went back to backup, but prepared silently. And again, Kim Min-seok was needed. Hwang Seong-bin suffered ligament rupture in his left ankle during base play that day and was forced to miss for about a month. Will Kim Min-seok be able to turn this opportunity into a step-up time? Will he be able to confirm again that he is the future of giants? /jhrae@osen.co.kr