Son Seong-bin has clearly proven that he is Lotte’s next starting catcher, surpassing ‘the next Kang Min-ho’ and ‘Little Posey’.바카라
The Lotte Giants won 3-0 in the 12th game of the season against the Hanwha Eagles of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 28th.
As a result, Lotte, which recorded 61 wins and 67 losses (0.477), narrowed the gap with the 6th place KIA Tigers to 3 games and the 5th place SSG Landers to 4 games, raising hopes of advancing to the postseason.
In particular, in this game, Son Seong-bin hit his first home run since his debut. Son Seong-bin faced his third at-bat in the 7th inning, when the team was ahead 2-0, with one out and no runners on base. He retired with a hit in the previous two at-bats, but swung the bat with excitement.
In a 1-ball-0 strike with Hanwha starter Ricardo Sanchez, Son Seong-bin hit a 147km/h fastball on the second pitch and created a large 125m home run that went well over the left field fence.
This was Son Seong-bin’s home run hit in 55 games of first-team appearances, three years after his debut. He was also a big arch in the victory.
Son Seong-bin wore Lotte’s uniform as a first-round pick after graduating from Suwon Jangan High School in 2021. After the 2021 season ended, he completed his military service at the Sangmu Baseball Team of the Armed Forces Athletic Corps and began to appear on the first team stage in earnest this season.
Son Seong-bin, who has been evaluated as having strong arms, good defense, and hitting ability since his high school days, shows a similar type to his role model, San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey. Accordingly, he is loved by many fans and is nicknamed ‘Little Posey’.
Son Seong-bin’s slugging ability has already been warmed up in the Futures League. This season, Son Seong-bin recorded a batting average of 0.333 (32 hits in 96 at-bats), 1 home run, 22 walks, a slugging percentage of 0.448, and an on-base percentage of 0.472 in the Futures League, reaching a whopping OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.920. Son Seong-bin, who succeeded in bombing in Futures, finally hit his first home run in the first team, and this home run became an important shot that helped Lotte advance to the postseason.
On the same day, Son Seong-bin expressed his feelings through the Lotte Giants’ official YouTube channel, saying, “I’m doing my best every time, and I’m really happy that the results are good. But more than anything, it’s best for the team to win.”
He then mentioned Yoo Kang-nam, Lotte’s starting catcher, and expressed his gratitude, saying, “(Yoo) Kang-nam came to me after every inning and gave me praise and feedback, which helped me a lot.”
Meanwhile, Lotte will continue to face off against Hanwha in Sajik on the 29th. On this day, Lotte will have Han Hyun-hee as the starter, and Hanwha will have Han Seung-ju on the mound.