Lee Woo-sung’s day was like a roller coaster, “Myeong-shin hyung, I’m fine” [Interview]

After an absurd base-running hit, unexpected moments occurred one after another, including his first grand slam in his debut and a ball hit to the body. What kind of day was September 15, 2023, as KIA Tigers outfielder Lee Woo-sung looked back?

Lee Woo-sung started as the sixth hitter and right fielder in the 13th game of the season against the Doosan Bears in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on the 15th. On this day, KIA had foreign hitter Socrates Brito standby on the bench to control his condition, and formed the outfield with left fielder Choi Hyeong-woo, center fielder Lee Chang-jin, and right fielder Lee Woo-seong.

In the bottom of the second inning, when the team was down 0-1, Lee Woo-sung had an opportunity from the first at-bat. After leadoff hitter Choi Hyeong-woo hit a double and advanced to third base when follow-up hitter Kim Seon-bin hit a pitcher’s ground ball, the score became third base with one out. Woo-sung Lee, who came to bat, pulled Doosan starter Brandon Waddell’s first pitch fastball, and the batted ball rolled toward the third baseman.

Third base runner Choi Hyeong-woo, who judged it to be an ordinary ground ball, was watching third baseman Heo Gyeong-min’s throw. However, Heo Gyeong-min’s throw, which threw the ball to first base, was wide of the mark. Then Choi Hyung-woo came home and scored the first goal for his team. The problem was Lee Woo-seong. After confirming that the ball had been dropped, while running to second base, he collided heavily with first base umpire Na Gwang-nam and fell down, unable to get up for a while. 

Since it was an ‘in play’ situation rather than a ‘ball dead’ situation, Doosan’s fielders continued to play, and second baseman Park Gye-beom tagged batter runner Woo-sung Lee, adding one out. The two teams traded scores and outs.

Lee Woo-seong, who met with reporters the next day, said, “We were losing 0-1 and didn’t get a good result with 1 out and 3rd base scoring opportunity, but luckily we made an error.”스포츠토토 He added, “The runner on third base couldn’t even get home, so the ball hit the base while running. I fell in. I saw the ball and turned to go to second base, but the first base umpire was there. I was so shocked at the time that I couldn’t get up. Personally, I feel sorry (to the first base umpire),” he said, recalling the situation.

The regret didn’t last long. In the bottom of the 4th inning, when the team was trailing 1-2, leadoff hitter Na Seong-beom’s double, Choi Hyeong-woo’s walk, and Kim Sun-bin’s leadoff hit allowed three batters in a row to load the bases with no outs, and Woo-sung Lee hit Doosan starter Brandon Waddell’s 7th pitch with the ball count at 2-2. He hit a slider and fired a grand slam that went over the left wall. Lee Woo-sung hit his 7th home run of the season 27 days after the Daegu Samsung Lions game on the 19th of last month. It was also his first grand slam in his debut.

Lee Woo-sung said, “When analyzing power, I analyzed that (Brandon) threw a lot toward the body, and the opponent threw there very well. The moment the ball took off, I thought it was a fly ball in the outfield, so I ran thinking, ‘It’s 1 point, thank goodness.’ “I think it was heaven helping me,” he said. “I felt at ease when the manager jokingly spoke to me. Anyway, the bases were loaded with no outs, and the next batter was Dae-in (Hwang), but I thought Dae-in was in good condition after seeing the ball well these days. “I think I swung confidently with the thought of striking out,” he said.

It was in the bottom of the 8th inning that Lee Woo-sung, who had continued to play the game after hitting a grand slam, faced another crisis. With 2 outs, he was hit by Kim Myung-shin’s 5th pitch fastball, and since it was difficult to play normally, he was replaced by pinch runner Oh Seon-woo. Although the injury is not serious enough to exclude him from the lineup, the club plans to monitor Lee Woo-sung’s physical condition for about 2-3 days.

Lee Woo-seong said, “It hit my hamstring muscle, but it feels like I’m getting some cramps when I run because it hit an area that doesn’t have a lot of muscle.” He added, “(Kim) Myeong-shin and I have been good friends since we were at Doosan, and we still keep in touch to this day.” I kept saying sorry, but he said that everything was okay in the world of competition anyway. He contacted me this morning (the 16th) as well. I said it was okay. I hoped he would do well until the end. Since he is young compared to his face, wouldn’t he get better day by day? “He laughed.

Although Lee Woo-sung’s roller coaster day ended with a sad ending due to the team’s defeat, his teammates and fans once again confirmed his presence. There are many outstanding outfielders on the team, but Lee Woo-sung tries to focus on the role given to him.

He said, “I don’t care about conditioning at all. I only think about winning. As for personal preparation, I am a person who has been going on and off for 10 to 11 years, so I come out in the morning and do what I used to do, and rather than know-how, I feel like I have been doing this my whole life. “There is no. If someone else wins when he goes out, it’s good, and if I win when I go out, it’s all good, so I think so,” he said

Lee Woo-sung, who joined Doosan with the 15th pick in the second round in 2013, went on to play for the NC Dinos and is continuing his career as a player for the KIA Tigers. This season’s performance is 100 games, 79 hits in 266 at-bats, a batting average of 0.297, 7 home runs, 40 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.791. This season is the first time there have been more than 100 games in a season.

Lee Woo-seong said, “I thought once more that it is important not to get hurt after a ball hits the body. If I had a personal goal, I would like to hit 100 hits, but when I thought that way, I could see that I was conscious of (the goal) and did this, so I decided to take it easy without a goal for now.” “I thought about it. I feel at ease now that I have erased my personal goals. I am thinking of doing my best in the given mission and being confident,” he said. “Wouldn’t it be best for the team to win? That way, I will be treated better later, the team image will improve, and my grades will improve.” “Hopefully, a lot of fans will come to visit us, so I think they are thinking about that,” he pledged.There is a person he mentioned at the end of the interview. She is the most reliable ‘helper’ wife. Lee Woo-seong said, “I’m not good at talking about what’s inside me or giving advice on my concerns, but I can tell everything to my wife, who has become a part of my family, and when I lower my pride and talk about it, she’s the type of person who talks realistically, so I’m grateful, and I think it has that kind of influence. “He expressed his gratitude.

After an absurd base-running hit, unexpected moments occurred one after another, including his first grand slam in his debut and a ball hit to the body. What kind of day was September 15, 2023, as KIA Tigers outfielder Lee Woo-sung looked back? Lee Woo-sung started as the sixth hitter and right fielder in the 13th game…