"We don't seem to fit well." Kim Tae-hyung also felt regretful about the 33rd-year-old veteran pitcher from a Japanese high school who secured a "five consecutive wins" for Lotte.

*This content was translated by AI.

Lotte Giants' Hyun Do-hoon (33) delivered a stable performance on the first division stage for the first time in two years, breaking the team's losing streak.

On the 23rd, in a home game against the Doosan Bears at the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season held at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium, Hyun Do-hoon appeared in the top of the 7th inning and secured Lotte's 6-1 victory with a perfect 1-inning outing.

Lotte's attempt to counterattack was completely cut off. Hyun Do-hoon induced a swing-and-miss from veteran Jung Soobin by dropping a forkball and cutter. Veteran Jung Soobin did not easily fall for the pitches but was retired on a 1st baseman's grounder after making contact with the fifth pitch. The following batter, Park Ji-hoon, also made contact with a low third pitch inside and was retired on a shortstop's grounder.

Even the most difficult batter, Park Chan-ho, could only watch the varied pitches come in. After giving up strikes on inside and outside sliders and cutters, he was retired on a shortstop's grounder after making contact with the fifth cutter. With this, Hyun Do-hoon achieved three consecutive scoreless outings since being called up to the first division on the 14th. His detailed stats were also impressive: 5⅔ innings, no walks, and three strikeouts.

Thanks to this, Lotte starting pitcher Alvin Rodriguez's strong performance of 6 innings, 6 hits allowed (1 home run), 1 walk, 8 strikeouts, and 1 earned run did not lose its luster. Combined with a lineup that hit 12 hits in total, Lotte managed to escape a five-game losing streak with difficulty.

Hyun Do-hoon is a player who entered the professional stage after many twists and turns. After graduating from Sinil Middle School, he went to Japan to study baseball at Kyoto International High School. He graduated from Kyushu Corits University but could not enter any professional league in either Korea or Japan. After returning to Korea, he played for the independent league team Paju Challengers before stepping onto the professional stage through the Doosan Bears as a development player in 2018. At the time, the Doosan manager was Kim Tae-hyung, but they did not connect. After completing his military service, he rejoined Doosan but experienced the pain of being released once again.

Lotte was the team that gave him another chance. When Manager Kim Tae-hyung joined Lotte in 2024, they reconnected as former manager and player. Hyun Do-hoon played in the most games in 2024, appearing in 8 games after joining Lotte in 2023. However, he did not step onto the first division stage last year. Even this year, despite good performance in the Futures League, the timing was strangely off whenever they tried to call him up. Manager Kim Tae-hyung also felt regretful about this part.

Manager Kim Tae-hyung expressed bitterness over the weekend during the home series against Hanwha, saying, "(Hyun) Do-hoon might not fit with me. He struggled whenever he was called up to the first division since Doosan." However, he also expressed joy, saying, "But that same player threw very good pitches yesterday (the 18th game), adjusting his speed and mixing in fastballs with breaking balls to steal the opponent's timing. His control was also good."

Hyun Do-hoon found the secret to his strong performance that caught the manager's eye in his composure. In a recent interview with reporters at Sajik Baseball Stadium, Hyun Do-hoon said, "I am trying to throw like a machine, excluding all emotions and thinking of nothing." He added, "In the past, I often got nervous and excited when called up to the first division. Since I had to suddenly go up for the game on the 18th, I didn't have time to get excited, which actually turned out to be good."

Recently, Lotte's starting rotation has boasted the league's best ERA at 3.36. However, the bullpen, with an ERA of 6.63 (9th in the league), has been unable to match the starters' strong performances due to severe offensive slumps, causing significant concern.

With new closer Choi Jun-yong firmly holding down the role with an ERA of 1.00 in 9 games, the middle of the bullpen connecting the starters and Choi Jun-yong was weak. Kim Won-joong, who returned after a traffic accident, had an ERA of 6.43 in 9 games, and Asia-quota reliever Masaya Koyama, expected to be a multi-inning reliever, posted an ERA of 7.00 in 8 games, falling short of expectations. Park Jeong-min, a college rookie who showed surprising early-season performance, also recently faltered and became a concern.

At that time, Hyun Do-hoon, who can handle "multi-inning" roles, appeared and was even more welcome. Hyun Do-hoon, who rotated through the second division starting rotation, succeeded in achieving the first quality start of the year in the Futures League (starting pitcher with 6 or more innings and 3 or fewer earned runs), proving he is capable of multi-inning work.

Hyun Do-hoon said, "I was given the opportunity to pitch long in the Futures League, so it wasn't too hard. When a starting pitcher comes out early, as in the game on the 18th, the bullpen gets used up a lot, so I think my role is to pitch long in that situation." He continued, "I try to finish the game as quickly as possible. I'm not someone who throws the ball right down the middle just because I focus on the center, but I think trying to throw like that led to good results."

At 33, an age that is not young, to his older teammates from the Lotte Futures team, such as Kim Tae-hyuk (38), Park Si-young (37), and Gu Seung-min (36), he is still just a younger brother. Hyun Do-hoon said, "I am on the older side, but there were three older players above me in the second division. I think I have good luck, as the older players kept taking care of me. When I was throwing, they would tell me how to throw based on their experiences, which was very helpful."

He also emphasized, "Going forward, I want to throw easily and comfortably. In the past, I tried to throw harder and better pitches, but that desire seems to have led me in a bad direction. So, I am trying to throw like a machine without aiming for strikeouts or velocity."

This is a first division opportunity that came at a late age. Until this year, the games given to him were all 16 first division games over 27⅓ innings and 123 second division games over 204⅓ innings in 8 years. Hyun Do-hoon smiled broadly and said, "I have no goals. Whether I am here or there, playing baseball is the same. I just want to play the baseball I love, a lot and for a long time."

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*This content was translated by AI.