One of the most shocking developments in the early days of the 2023 South Korean baseball season has been the hitting slump of the Kiwoom Heroes outfielder Lee Jung-hoo, the reigning league MVP.
The veritable hitting machine, who entered the season as the career batting average leader in Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) history with a .342 mark, is batting .197 through 17 games this season. The two-time defending batting champion has never hit this low this deep into any of his six previous seasons.
Lee has also struck out eight times in those 17 games. Last year, he didn't get his eighth strikeout until June 3, his 52nd game.
As far as Heroes manager Hong Won-ki is concerned, though, we are still in the "small sample size" territory. Hong said Tuesday he believes Lee will eventually find his groove.
Lee, who will be made available for interested major league clubs via posting after this season, has made a much-publicized swing change during the offseason. This was in part to give himself a better chance to attack high-velocity fastballs if, or even when, he reaches the big leagues.
The decision to ditch a swing that helped Lee lead the KBO in five major hitting categories last year raised some eyebrows, but Hong doesn't think the new swing has caused issues.
"I haven't noticed any major problems with his mechanics," Hong told reporters in a pregame scrum before hosting the KT Wiz at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. "He's been putting in a lot of work, and I believe he will soon start getting the results he wants."
Despite his early season woes, Lee has batted in his customary No. 3 spot in the lineup in every game. And Hong has no plans to move him around just to ease the pressure on Lee.
"He should be hitting in the heart of our lineup and he has a role to play there," Hong added. "This is something he himself has to overcome. I don't have a plan to make any major changes yet."
The manager also chose to look on the brighter side of Lee's slump.
"We haven't even played 20 games yet, and we have more than 120 games left," Hong said of the 144-game schedule. Tuesday's tilt against the Wiz is the Heroes' 20th game of 2023. "I think it's better for him to go through something like this early in the season than later in the year."
Source: Yonhap News Agency