The lonely farewell of a genius shortstop left Lotte due to a lazy windstorm
The lonely farewell of a genius shortstop left Lotte due to a lazy windstorm
Blog Article
He was once called a genius shortstop, but he ended up saying goodbye in a lonely way. Lee Hak-joo, 34, left the Lotte Giants without showing off his skills and being labeled as a lazy shortstop.스포츠토토
The Lotte Giants announced on the 5th that they have communicated their intention to release the team to four players, including infielders Lee Hak-joo, Oh Sun-jin, pitchers Lee In-bok and Lim Joon-seop. With this result, Lee Hak-joo will leave the team just two seasons after joining Lotte through a trade ahead of the 2022 season.
Given that he is a veteran infielder who has already reached his mid-30s and has shown virtually little over the past two years, it is uncertain whether he will be able to continue his active career. From Lotte's point of view, it is difficult to predict the turn of events easily, given that it has steadily given opportunities, but has not met those expectations.
However, there was a time when Lee was considered a talent who represented Korean baseball. When he was a student at Chungam High School, he drew attention as an ultra-high school shortstop. He started playing baseball with right-handedness, turned right-handed and left-handed, and settled down as a shortstop in junior high school, but was selected as a fielder with outstanding defense capability in five-tool players this year. rosy assessment was also followed that Lee, who has grown step by step, will continue to play the role of Korea's best shortstop in the future.
In fact, Lee Hak-joo, who received a lot of attention from domestic and foreign clubs, signed a significant $1.15 million contract with the Chicago Cubs in March 2008 when he was a high school senior. The Cubs were collecting a large number of Korean players at the time, and among them, Lee Hak-joo's chances of success were high.
Lee Hak-joo was traded to Tampa Bay in 2011 and gradually emerged as the team's top prospect. In 2012, Lee ranked No. 1 as a promising player in the team thanks to his remarkable performance in the minor league.
And in 2013, Lee Hak-joo finally seemed to be on the big league stage with a batting average of 422, 19 hits, 7 RBIs, 13 points, and OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.136 in 15 games at the start of the season.
Lee Hak-joo's future was expected to be solid as he exploded his batting talent as he was already evaluated as a shortstop with the highest level of defense in the minor league in 2012.
However, Goddess of Destiny betrayed Lee. Lee suffered a cruciate ligament rupture when his knee was hit by a deep tackle by an opponent team's player during defense. It was a serious injury that threatened his career as a player. Lee returned to the court in 2014 after a long rehabilitation process and played in 93 games, but showed poor performance with a batting average of only 230.
In 2015, Lee Hak-joo met with a reporter at the Tempa Bay Spring Camp, a Fort Charlotte sports park in Port Charlotte, Florida, and vowed to revive.
"I didn't start with high expectations for last year's performance. I was anxious and had ups and downs. I think the main reason for my sluggishness was that I couldn't adapt quickly," Lee said. "As I got hurt again while stealing bases in the Minor Camp, I became more scared mentally (about injuries), but if an athlete has that kind of mindset, he can't exercise." He also expressed his desperate desire to advance to the big league, saying, "After 2014, I will play again in 2015 with a new mind."
At that time, Lee Hak-joo was a promising player who still had confidence and passion despite an unexpected injury. He also showed a deeper weight through the ordeal. At that time, Lee Hak-joo answered a reporter's question, "What kind of player do you want to become?"
"First of all, I need a player in my team. I want to be a player who scores a lot, steals the bases well, and helps center hitters. And I want to be the best defensive player in my team. Those who are exciting and efficient are my goals. I will go to the major leagues without getting hurt in 2015. I am confident. I will go back to Korea with a smile because I am good at it."
Eventually, his wish failed to come true. When he was a minor player, he was evaluated as 60 on the 20-80 scale in the scouting report, but ended up suffering from injury. His strength was reduced to rupture of the cruciate ligament, as he had strong shoulders with wide range of defense, and in particular, fast defense through fast staff.
In the end, without success as a big leaguer, Lee Hak-joo returned to the domestic stage. Expectations for Lee Hak-joo were still high even after joining Samsung in 2019. Samsung also showed high expectations as it used the first-round pick in the second round of 2019. In 2019, the first year of his professional debut in Korea, Lee displayed his potential by batting .262/101 hits/7 home runs/43 runs/36 RBIs/15 steals in 262 games.
His batting performance was disappointing in many ways compared with expectations. However, he was nicknamed "genius shortstop" as he showed tremendous level of throwing and defense. Criticism ensued, however. He immediately posted a number of 19 errors, including inaccurate throwing errors.
In particular, experts pointed out that he plays more leisurely than basic skills in the U.S. style defense compared to players from Korea. Some criticized that he made many mistakes due to his lack of concentration.
He gradually displayed stable defense capabilities afterwards, but failed to establish himself at Samsung in the end. In the meantime, Lee was dubbed a "lazy genius." In fact, Lee was not well-received in terms of training attitude, life and performance.
However, it was not the end. Sung Min-gyu, former general manager of Lotte who highly valued Lee's talent and took him to the U.S. when he was scouted by the Major League, reached out to him. Lee Hak-joo effectively got the last chance as he wore Lotte's uniform in a 2022 trade.
Not a few expected Lee Hak-joo's talent to blossom again as he worked with former Lotte coach Larry Sutton, a foreign leader.