May is coming to a close. There’s a baseball team that comes to mind at this time of year: Lotte. They’re nicknamed “Bomde” because they’re only good in the spring.
But this year seems to be different.
Reporter Park Soo-joo talks to players Jeon Jun-woo, the “eldest brother,” and Noh Jin-hyuk, the “team batting average leader,” to find out why the team’s momentum hasn’t waned despite the warmer weather.
Earlier this month, Lotte won an impressive nine games in a row for the first time in 15 years.
Here’s how Jeon Jun-woo, Lotte’s franchise player and eldest brother, remembers the nine-game winning streak.
“I think the nine-game winning streak came about because my teammates worked well as a unit and I never felt like, ‘I think we’re going to lose today,’ so I was confident.”
The man who emerged during the winning streak is the protagonist of ‘Permanent Disconnect’.
“(Lee Dae-ho) kept congratulating me and saying that I was doing well… Personally, I was thinking, ‘I wish I had done better when he was with me.'”
He hasn’t been out of the top 10 for a whole month. Where does his power come from?
“The pitching is so good, and the defense is so good this year… and beyond that, there’s a good vibe, so I think that’s why I’m keeping it up now.”
The answer was similar for Noh Jin-hyuk, who has been playing a key role in the team’s success this year.
“The players always have the idea that the team comes first, not themselves, and that the score comes first… I think I’m about 3-4 (out of 10 contributions).”스포츠토토
The fans’ enthusiastic support at home and away is amazing every time.
“I’m always saying, ‘Elotte, Lotte, Kia,’ but I feel like I’m surprised every game because I realize that Lotte is like this. Even when we go away, there are more fans than the home team, so I’m surprised about that, and I feel grateful that more than 10,000 people come to the game even though it’s a weekday…”
The eldest brother’s answer to the question of whether they could overcome ‘Bomde’ with their momentum was firm.
“It’s still early, but I think we’re going with a lot of good momentum, so you can probably look forward to this year.”