Samsung Lions’ “super rookie” Lee Ho-seong struggled in his debut start. However, head coach Park Jin-man said, “It’s just the first game.”
Lee, who made his professional debut this season after graduating from Incheon High School, was the only rookie to make the opening roster. He has pitched well in three games with no losses and a 2.57 ERA. Samsung removed Lee from the first-team roster on March 16, ahead of the game against Daegu Lotte. This was to prepare him for a full-time starting role in the Futures League.
“He’s in the process of increasing his pitch count, but he’s not physically strong enough to do it all at once, so we’ll do it gradually,” said Park Jin-man. “Sometimes his balance isn’t right. He’s still young, so he doesn’t have enough sense. He needs more experience.”
After joining the Future Team, he was given a solid starting lesson and made his starting debut in a home game against Lotte at Gyeongsan Ballpark on April 27. In 1⅔ innings, he gave up four runs on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts. In the first inning, Jung-hoon singled to right, Park walked and a wild pitch put runners on second and third. He struck out Kim Dong-hyuk to get out of the jam.
In the bottom of the second, Lee gave up a walk to Jung Dae-sun and back-to-back singles to Kang Tae-yul and Kim Se-min. After a fielder’s choice by Hwang Sung-bin allowed one more run, Lee scored his fourth run on a sacrifice fly to right field by Kim Min-soo. Lee was replaced by left-hander Park Se-woong with the bases loaded. Samsung fell to Lotte 6-8 on the day, with Lee taking the loss. 안전놀이터
As the saying goes, “You can’t get drunk on your first drink,” and manager Park Jin-man said of Lee Ho-sung’s debut start, “It’s just the first game. You just need to prepare well step by step based on your experience in your first start.” Although the result of his debut start was not good, he considered it part of his growth process as a talented pitcher who should be a part of Samsung’s starting lineup in the future.
Park Jin-man said of Lee, “He is young but has good game management skills. He has a good delivery, so if he gains more experience, he can be a starting pitcher,” Park said. In a long race, it is necessary to have backup resources in addition to the existing starters. Lee Ho-seong is one of the candidates. Everyone hopes that he can use his debut start as a learning experience.