“I have to see it because he has to see it”
Hanwha shortstop Lee Do-yoon (26) put the final piece of the puzzle together for his team’s sixth straight win with a bases-loaded, two-out super-catch in the bottom of the ninth inning. A four-game sweep, including a doubleheader. This is the first time in 7,300 days since LG Electronics against Daejeon on Sept. 13-15, 2003.
In the game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the Hanwha Eagles in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Tuesday afternoon, Lee Do-yoon came on as a substitute shortstop with a 9-4 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho wanted to protect the lead with solid defense.
Lee lived up to the expectations of Choi, who pulled out his pinch-hitter card.
After his first hit in 2020, Lee said, “I want to be a stable and steady player rather than a flashy one. The season is coming to an end, and I need to show a lot of good things so that I can play baseball in the first team next year. I want to make fans feel that they should watch me at shortstop because I have to, not because there is no one else to watch.”토토사이트
Lee proved what he said in an interview three years ago on the field. Lee became that player.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, the score was 9-8 with two outs. With two balls and one strike, Kiwoom Dawson hit a hard grounder that sailed between the legs of Park Sang-won at second base. Lee chased the ball all the way. Throwing himself at the fastball as it rolled past the second base line, he calmly retrieved the ball and threw to first base to end the game. It was the moment Hanwha completed its first four-game sweep in 7,300 days and 20 years.
The orange-colored Eagles fans in the Gocheok Dome were speechless as they marveled at Lee’s defense. First baseman Chae Eun-sung, who made the super catch to end the game, also pumped her fist in the air.
Lee Do-yoon, a right-handed hitting infielder from Bukil High School, was drafted by Hanwha with the 24th overall pick in the second round in 2015, but he joined the army after failing to break through the first team infield wall. He never let go of baseball, even in the military, and made a name for himself with his first hit in his debut in 2020.
Three years later, the hard-working baseball player is now the Eagles’ victory celebration shortstop. A man who keeps his word. This is Do-yoon Lee, the unsung hero of the Eagles.