Lotte's catcher famine era is over...Thumbs up to KS for 7th straight year "league's best"

Now he dreams of a "catcher's kingdom. Even the 'master' who came to Lotte is considered "the best in the league."

Lotte suffered a major setback when Kang Min-ho, the "safe man," declared his free agency after the 2017 season and moved to Samsung. The national team catcher, who had been Lotte's mainstay for more than a decade, was gone overnight, and it wasn't easy to fill the void.

However, over the past year, Lotte has shown the potential to become a catching powerhouse. First, the team secured a solid starting catcher in the free agent market last winter, signing Yoo Kang-nam to a four-year, $8 billion contract, and then added a burgeoning catching prospect in Son Seong-bin, who returned from military service, as well as a batting prospect in Lee Jung-geun, who has blossomed at the plate.

Yoo played in 121 games this year, batting .261 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs. Considering his price tag, this is a disappointing performance. However, there is hope. After September, he exploded for a .379 batting average with four home runs and 24 RBIs.

After being discharged from the military, Son joined Lotte in June and has played in 45 games, batting .263 with one home run and 15 RBIs. Most importantly, he showed off his fast and accurate throwing ability, posting a 70 percent stolen base rate.

Lee's growth has also been impressive. After hitting just .191 with one home run and 15 RBIs last year, he turned things around this year, hitting .333 with one home run and 13 RBIs.

Lotte's newest manager, Kim Tae-hyung, also played catcher during his playing days. "I think Lotte's catchers are the best in the league right now. I don't think there's much to talk about." 토토사이트

One of the main commonalities among the top teams is that they are strong at the plate. Kim Tae-hyung was able to lead Doosan to seven consecutive Korean Series appearances with a strong defense. When Kim took over as Doosan's new manager, the team had a national team catcher in Yang Ji, and even after Yang Ji declared free agency and left for NC, Kim tried to minimize the gap by using Park Se-hyuk as the main catcher.