From a wild pitch to his first career grand slam to a ball hit to his body, it was a series of unexpected moments. This is how KIA Tigers outfielder Lee Woo-sung recalls his day on September 15, 2023.
Lee Woo-sung started the 13th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Doosan Bears at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on September 15, batting sixth and playing right field. On this day, KIA kept foreign hitter Socrates Brito on the bench for conditioning purposes, and the outfield consisted of Choi Hyung-woo in left field, Lee Chang-jin in center field, and Lee Woo-sung in right field.
In the bottom of the second inning, with the team trailing 1-0, Lee was given a chance in his first at-bat. After leading off with a double, Choi Hyung-woo advanced to third on a wild pitch by Kim Sun-bin, putting runners on first and third. Lee stepped to the plate and pulled a fastball from Doosan starter Brandon Waddell, but the ball rolled toward the third baseman.스포츠토토
Thinking it was a normal grounder, third baseman Choi Hyung-woo watched the throw from third baseman Heo Kyung-min, but Heo’s throw to first base was way off. Choi came home to score the first run of the game. The problem was Lee Woo-sung. After seeing that the ball was out, he ran to second base and collided heavily with first base umpire Na Kwang-nam and fell to the ground, unable to get up for a while.
Since it was an “in-play” situation and not a “balk,” the Doosan players continued to play, and second baseman Park Kye-beom tagged out Lee at the plate for one more out. The two teams traded runs and outs.
“We were losing 0-1, and I didn’t make the most of the one-out, third base scoring opportunity, but I was lucky to make a mistake,” Lee told the press the next day. “The third baseman couldn’t get home, so I was just looking at the base and the ball fell out while I was running. I saw the ball and turned to go to second base, but there was a first base umpire. I was in shock and couldn’t get up. “Personally, I feel sorry for (the first baseman),” he recalled.
His regret didn’t last long. In the bottom of the fourth inning, with the score 1-2, leadoff hitter Na Sung-bum doubled, Choi Hyung-woo walked, and Kim Sun-bin singled to load the bases with no outs, and Lee Woo-sung hit a seven-pitch slider from Doosan starter Brandon Waddell over the left field wall with a 2-2 count. It was Lee’s seventh home run of the season, 27 days after his last against the Daegu Samsung Lions on March 19, and his first career grand slam.
Lee said, “From the time I analyzed the pitch, I knew (Brandon) throws a lot to the body, and he throws to that area so well. The moment the ball was up, I thought it was an outfield hit, so I ran thinking, ‘It’s one run, thank God,’ but I think the heavens helped me,” he said, adding, “The manager jokingly said something to me, which made me feel better. Anyway, it was a no-hitter and the next batter was (Hwang) Dae-in, but even Dae-in sees the ball well these days and I don’t think he’s in bad shape, so I swung confidently with the idea of striking out.”
Another crisis came in the eighth inning for Lee, who continued to play after the perfect game. He was hit by Kim Myung-shin’s five-pitch fastball in the second inning, and since he was unable to play the field normally, he was replaced by pinch-hitter Oh Sun-woo. Although the injury is not serious enough to be removed from the roster, the team will monitor Lee’s physical condition for two to three days.
“I was hit in the hamstring muscle area, which doesn’t have a lot of muscle, so I feel like I’m getting some cramps when I run,” Lee said. “(Kim) Myung-shin and I have been friends since I was at Doosan, and we’re still in touch. I kept apologizing to him, but he said it’s all good in the world of competition. He contacted me again this morning, and I told him it was okay. I told him I wanted him to do well until the end. He laughed and said, “I’m younger than I look, so I think I’ll get better every day.
Although Lee’s roller-coaster day ended on a sour note with the team’s loss, his teammates and fans were once again reminded of his presence. While the team has a lot of talented outfielders, Lee is trying to focus on his role.
“I don’t care about conditioning or anything like that. I’m only thinking about winning. In terms of personal preparation, I’ve been playing on and off for 10 to 11 years, so I just come out in the morning and do what I’ve always done, and I don’t feel like I’ve been doing this all my life, so I don’t have any know-how. It’s good to win when other people win, and it’s good to win when I win, so I think so.”
Lee joined Doosan with the 15th pick in the second round in 2013, and has since played for the NC Dinos and KIA Tigers. This season, he is batting .297 with 79 hits in 266 at-bats, seven home runs, 40 RBIs, and a .791 OPS in 100 games. This is the first time he has played more than 100 games in a season.
Lee said, “I thought about the importance of not getting hurt after a hard hit ball. If I had a personal goal, I would like to hit 100 hits, but when I thought about it, I could see that I was conscious of (the goal), so I reminded myself to be relaxed without a goal for now. I think I’m more relaxed now that I don’t have a personal goal. I’m trying to do my best and be confident in the tasks I’m given,” he said, adding, “I think it’s best for the team to win, so that I can be treated better afterward, and the fans will come to see me if the team image is good and the performance is good, so I think I’m thinking about that.”
At the end of the interview, he mentions a person. His wife, his most reliable “helper. “I’m not good at talking about things inside or counseling about my problems, but with my wife, I can tell her everything, and I can lower my ego to talk to her, and she tells me a lot of realistic things, so I’m grateful, and I think it has an effect,” he said.