"I found you, NEW leadoff." LG's trade fortune tells me why I'm not letting my guard down even with a batting average of 0.481, "Because I remember being good and then falling."

*This content was translated by AI.

He hit a batting average of 0.481 (13 hits in 27 at-bats). Marked the perfect start as a new leadoff for the LG Twins. Nevertheless, Chun Sung-ho (29) never lets down the tension.

Chun Sung-ho started as the first batter and third baseman in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game against SSG Landers at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 10th, and led his team to a 10-2 victory by scoring four points with three hits, one walk, and one stolen base in four at-bats.

Due to Hong Chang-ki's poor performance, he was the first batter in 232 days since the game against the Lotte Giants on August 21 last year, and completely erased manager Yeom Kyung-yeop's worries by playing four points, his personal record.

Selected by KT Wiz in the second round in the 2020 rookie draft after serving in the promotion high school and Dankook University, he spent an impressive season in 2024 after completing his mandatory military service in the Sangmu. In particular, he showed off his hot batting sense to maintain a batting average of .400 until 14 games after the opening, and posted a batting average of .295 in 75 games that year.

However, he was traded to LG in June last year, and since then, he has expressed his potential as an infield utility resource, raising expectations for this season.

LG, which had been on the rise with four consecutive wins, had to play a close game every game due to the slump in the lineup. Coach Yeom planned to place Chun Sung-ho, who had a good batting sense, in No. 1, to bring more RBI opportunities to Austin Dean and Moon Bo-kyung, and he was able to completely fit and win the game.

Chun Sung-ho, who started with a lucky infield hit from the first inning, immediately set the table by stealing second base and scored the first run when Austin hit left-handed.

In the fourth inning, Chun Sung-ho, who got on base with a left-handed hit with one out and scored with Austin's two-run home run, walked in the sixth inning and got on base with an infield hit again in the seventh inning, scoring both times. On March 27, 2024, he completed his career-high scoring game by surpassing the three points he scored as a member of KT against the Suwon Doosan Bears.

The news of Chun Sung-ho's appearance as the first hitter was unexpected. After the game, Chun Sung-ho said, "I was very surprised at first, but the coach and the coach called me before the game and told me to just hit it instead of thinking it was number one, so I think it was a good result to do what I was doing," adding, "Of course, if I go out a lot, Austin or Bo-kyung will score a lot because I have a good feeling, but if I think I have to live as the first hitter unconditionally, I think I can't do it anymore, so I did what I did."

He has a good batting feeling to the satisfaction of himself. Chun Sung-ho said, "I thought I was lucky today, and I could see the ball well," adding, "I'm in good condition now and I've gained a lot of confidence because the results are coming out."

Although it has not grown into a key resource since last year's trade, it has contributed to the championship and is being called a "blessing ball" by fans. Chun Sung-ho, who once said he would cry whenever he heard the nickname, explained, "I said I would be a player who would not be bothered by what I always said when I came here last year, but thank you for calling me that and I'm getting a lot of strength from the words last year or this year."

But he never lets his guard down. In 2024, he performed tremendously at the beginning of the season, but has suffered a decline since then. Chun Sung-ho said, "I have a good memory at that time, and I think it was a great experience to fail while doing well," adding, "So this year, if I don't repeat the same mistake, I'm trying a lot and preparing a lot."

Was it the realization that the .400 batting average could not be maintained. Rather than dwell on the figures in front of me, I decided to be more confident and focus more on what I had to do. Chun Sung-ho said, "At that time, I became a little passive when I swung and missed, but now the coach and coach told me not to be afraid of swinging and that I could strike out, which helped me a lot," adding, "I like to play actively from the first pitch, but when I didn't do well in 2024, I became passive and didn't play the first pitch." Now, I'm thinking of hitting the same even if the bad times come," he vowed.

With that thought, I wrote down the three letters 'confidence' under my hat. Chun Sung-ho wrote, "I wrote the letters confidence and the names of my wife, son, and dog. I always think about my wife, son, and dog. The child has been exactly 100 days, he said. "I feel like it's going well with the best son. "I think I was able to come this far because my wife worked so hard and was considerate," he said.

I still think the defense needs more supplementation. He expressed his greed for the new utility award this season, but he said, "I think I need to practice more because I'm so bad at defense," and added, "I'll try to do well, but I'm trying to do better."

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*This content was translated by AI.