Talking about infielder Lee Do-yoon (27) on the last day of the season, Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho said, “My annual salary is a little more than 30 million won (27,500 U.S. dollars), but I contributed to my team by playing in more than 100 games. I think it is the best in terms of contribution compared to my annual salary. When these players perform well, they need to earn a lot of salary to motivate them and give hope to those around them,” in anticipation of an increase in their annual salary next year. 에볼루션 바카라사이트
Lee’s annual salary this year was only 34 million won. It is a small salary, which is slightly more than the minimum salary of 30 million won. Although he is in his ninth year as a professional player since joining the team in 2015, he played in 152 games in the first division until last year. He stayed in the second division longer than in the first division, and he rarely had a chance to raise his salary. Expectations were not high as he was the fourth shortstop in the team and an all-weather backup member of the infield.
However, Lee did not miss the hard-won opportunity this year. Main shortstop Ha Joo-seok was caught drunk driving and was suspended for 70 games, and promising player Park Jung-hyun, who was given the chance to become the starting pitcher first, grew slower. Veteran Oh Sun-jin played shortstop but had difficulty in defense due to his hamstring injury in mid-May, and Lee joined the team.
Lee, who first called up to the main league on May 20, took the center stage in the infield with stable defense. As he had more chances to bat, his bat began to explode. He hit like an altoran in the bottom eight to nine batters. Since the end of June, Hanwha has won eight consecutive games for the first time in 18 years, and Lee has been at the center of it. Although Ha returned to the main league after being lifted from disciplinary action in mid-July, Lee did not give up his position as the main shortstop, but completed the entire season.
He played 106 games with a batting average of .252 (78 hits in 309 times at bat), the most since his debut, and posted one homer, 13 RBIs, 16 runs, and 11 stolen bases. He had a batting average of .293 through Sept. 2 for this season, but his performance dropped to the .100 range (.173) at the end of the season. Without Lee’s unexpected performance at shortstop, however, Hanwha would not have been able to come in last place.
Lee even played the closing camp of Miyazaki in Japan after the season, and said, “I played a little over 100 games this year. It has been a difficult year to judge for myself yet. When things went well, they went well, but when they didn’t, they completely collapsed at once. Even when things were going well, I felt anxious that I might fall off. In the second half of the season, I did it comfortably with the mindset that “Let’s at least work hard in defense.” To give my overall review, I thought, “We still have a long way to go.”
Defending is the most important position for shortstop. As a shortstop in 97 games (90 starts) and 746 innings, he had only eight errors. With a defense rate of 97.8 percent, he ranked second among the 10 shortstop players who played more than 500 innings after KT’s Kim Sang-soo (98.6 percent). It is not easy to accurately evaluate defense based on records, but Lee also managed to secure and catch balls that were hard to catch.
“I think I have more strength in defense than batting. I practiced a lot in defense. I had to play multiple positions, so I got more funk than others. Coaches also taught me how to respond to situations when they arise. As I practiced with that in mind, the actual play also came out better than I thought,” he explained.
It was also his first experience as a mainstay in the main league since mid-May. “I was tired at the end of the season, but I think it’s an excuse. I had never played in many matches in the main league, so it was difficult to cope with a bad situation. I asked a lot of veteran players, and I learned what kind of exercise they do and manage when things are bad,” he said. “I don’t think I’m a mainstay yet. I have to compete again. I’m not a mainstay until I play the full capacity for three years. I will continue to compete with the same mindset as I have this year next year,” he said.
Ha Joo-seok, who had difficulties in the first division this year due to his sense of play, will return next year after sharpening his sword. Lee cannot be outplayed. “I want to continue to show good performance, not just players who shine for a while. I think I should do better next year than this year in all aspects. It’s only been a year since I played baseball in the first division, but it was a shame that the season was over. (No) Si-hwan also played baseball so well, but he felt sorry about it. It is said that no player would be disappointed when the season is over. I hope to make next year a season that will be less disappointing,” he vowed.