Crazy! "Fantastic no-bounce throw, so sorry." A treasure for Lotte → Manager Kim Tae-hyung's glowing praise: "Incredible stability; he has now become a leader" [Busan on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Kim Tae-hyung, manager of the Lotte Giants, spared no praise for Jeon Min-jae, who made an outstanding defensive play the previous day (the 8th).

Lotte will face the KIA Tigers in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium on the 9th at 6:30 p.m.

After defeating KIA 10-2 in the first of their final three games of the first half on the 7th, Lotte secured an 11-3 victory the following day. Having already clinched a winning series, they now aim to sweep the entire series.

This season, Jeon Min-jae has been performing well as the key shortstop leading Lotte's infield.

Especially yesterday, he displayed fantastic defense. In the top of the 5th inning with Lotte leading 9-0, it was KIA's turn to bat. With one out and no runners on base, Lotte's starting pitcher Na Gyun-an faced Joo Hyo-sang.

Joo Hyo-sang targeted Na Gyun-an's first pitch, and the ball rolled deep toward the shortstop position. Jeon Min-jae rushed to field it, then made a dynamic throw while jumping to first base. The ball, soaring in a parabola, landed precisely on the first baseman's mitt with a no-bounce throw.

That was truly a fantastic defensive play. TV broadcasts even captured Lotte players in the dugout reacting with surprise upon witnessing it.

How did the manager, Kim, view this? Before the game, when asked about Jeon Min-jae's outstanding defense, he said, "Such moments have occurred before," adding, "Rather than just observing, I truly feel that (Jeon) Min-jae has risen to this level. He is showing very stable performance in defense. In a way, he has become a leader." He spared no praise.

Meanwhile, Lotte's starting lineup for the day was: Hwang Seong-bin (center field), Go Seung-min (first base), Reyes (left field), Han Dong-hee (designated hitter), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Han Tae-yang (second base), Son Ho-young (right field), Kim Se-min (third base), and Son Seong-bin (catcher). The starting pitcher was Kim Jin-wook.

In response, KIA's starting lineup was: Kim Ho-ryeong (center field), Park Jae-hyun (left field), Kim Do-young (third base), Na Sung-beom (right field), Castro (designated hitter), Han Jun-su (catcher), Kim Sun-bin (second base), Byun Woo-hyeok (first base), and Park Min (shortstop). The starting pitcher was Yang Hyeon-jong.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.