[Video] "The most embarrassing moment of my baseball career": 18,700 fans laughed at Lotte's 'Tornado Potato' Son Seong-bin — Why was the scoreboard so cruel?

*This content was translated by AI.

"This was truly the most embarrassing moment of my entire baseball career."

Lotte Giants' 'Tornado Potato,' Son Seong-bin (24), openly shared his feelings about his desperate struggle at second base the previous day (the 4th).

Son Seong-bin, who has emerged as Lotte's starting catcher this season, has also sparked off-field interest, drawing attention even from those uninterested in Lotte or baseball.

The same was true for the previous day's game against Suwon KT Wiz. With Lotte leading 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, two outs, and runners on first and second, Son Seong-bin reached base due to an opponent's error and took his position as a runner at second base. During Kim Dong-hyeok's at-bat, Son had taken a relatively wide lead but was caught off guard by Han Seung-taek's pickoff attempt at second. In a rush to return to the base, Son attempted a slide to touch second base, but his arm fell just short.

In an effort to avoid being called out, he twisted his body in mid-air, which ended up looking like he was lying flat on the ground. The initial call was "out." Son requested a video review, and naturally, this moment was replayed multiple times on both the scoreboard and TV broadcasts.

This became a moment that turned all 18,700 fans in the packed Suwon KT Wiz Park, players from both teams, and viewers at home into a sea of laughter. The reaction remained explosive even after the game. Fortunately for Son, Lotte won the game, allowing the incident to be treated as an endearing mistake. Numerous shorts were created featuring reactions from the dugout. His nickname evolved from "Potato" to "Tornado Potato."

After the game, when reporters asked him, "I really didn't get tagged," Son expressed his sense of injustice. The next day, he maintained the same stance. Ahead of the game against Suwon KT on the 5th, Son met with reporters again and defended himself by saying, "It just looked like I wasn't tagged because you couldn't see it from the side — I truly wasn't tagged."

He added, "But this was my mistake. I have nothing to say. It was my fault. This was even more embarrassing than when I failed in Gwangju. Truly, this is the most embarrassing moment of my baseball career. I even heard fans chanting my name with 'safe.' But seeing players' reactions on the scoreboard made me feel so embarrassed and humiliated," he said with a helpless laugh.

He also seemed aware that recent clips of him scolding pitchers or making various facial expressions had gone viral. Son remarked, "I should be posting videos of my good plays... but whenever I play a game, countless memes are created." He added, somewhat bewildered, "My approach with pitchers varies by player. Some need to be spoken to firmly, while others respond better to gentleness."

He continued, "(Kim) Jin-wook and (Choi) Jun-yong need to be spoken to firmly to get their attention. Since Jin-wook is a friend, I can speak more casually with him. For (Park) Jung-min, (Na) Gyun-an, and (Park) Se-woong, I try to take my time and speak gently."

The cheerful atmosphere from the previous day aligns with Lotte's recent dugout mood and upward momentum. Once trailing by a win-loss margin of -15 and slipping to 10th place, Lotte has now reduced their margin to -7 and is within striking distance of 5th place, just four games behind. At the heart of this turnaround are the pitching staff and Son Seong-bin, who leads them.

Because Son's sincere effort to avoid being called out even while winning was evident, fans could laugh without worry.

Son explained, "I didn't twist my body just for fun. I initially tried to skip and plant my foot, but got pushed back there. When I slid, I should have slipped, but the ground was a bit soft, so I got stuck. As I stretched out my arm, it seemed like I wouldn't reach the base, so I did everything I could to touch it," he said with raised voice.

He then smiled broadly and added, "Our team's atmosphere is truly excellent right now. Everyone is united in their desire to win — it's very visible. Even when we're losing, they maintain a bright mood, which makes me feel great. If I'm positively influencing that atmosphere, I think that's wonderful."

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*This content was translated by AI.