*This content was translated by AI.
Lotte Giants' Na Seung-yeop (24) has become a completely different player since the second half of the season. The frantic approach to simply making contact has vanished, and he has returned as a machine that turns every swing into a hit.
On the 11th, at Incheon SSG Landers Field, Na Seung-yeop started as the leadoff hitter and first baseman in the visiting game against SSG Landers in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season, recording two hits and one run in four at-bats.
While Lotte suffered a 4-8 defeat after being plagued by six consecutive hitless at-bats, Na Seung-yeop was the team's only multi-hit player that day to salvage some dignity. After grounding out to shortstop in his first plate appearance, he came up as the leadoff hitter in the top of the fourth inning and lined a single to left field. He calmly picked two of Pedro Avila's dropping cutters before driving the fourth cutter coming from the outside with authority.
Facing the difficult Na Seung-yeop, the pitcher-catcher battery of Avila and Jo Hyung-woo continued to attack his inside corner in the sixth inning. Unfazed, Na watched one inside cutter before connecting powerfully on a high cutter, resulting in a hit to center-left field. Following an opponent's error and consecutive RBI singles by Ko Seung-min and Yoon Dong-hee, Na also crossed home plate.
This is a stark contrast to his first-half performance. During this year's spring training, Na visited a gambling den and received a 30-game suspension, returning to the first division only in May. He showed inconsistent form thereafter, finishing the first half with a.228 batting average (167 at-bats, 38 hits) over 48 games. While his power display was decent with seven doubles and five home runs, he struck out 31 times and walked 18 times, meaning his bat often swung through empty air more than it made contact.
However, in the second half, his bat has not been producing easily. Instead, whenever he does make contact, he hits for average, regaining consistency with a.392 batting average (51 at-bats, 20 hits) over 14 games. Notably, his plate discipline improved significantly, recording nine walks and four strikeouts.
The manager's trust is also gradually accumulating. Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung has started Na Seung-yeop as the second hitter for three consecutive games, praising him: "Ko Seung-min is an aggressive swinger, so having a fast runner on base can be distracting. Also, he often finds himself in unfavorable count situations recently, so I swapped him with Na Seung-yeop. Na has performed better than expected at the two-hole."
When met before the game, Na Seung-yeop cited "relaxing" as the secret to his success. "I try not to exert too much force in the batter's box," Na explained. "Rather than trying to hit with power, I focused on doing what I can do a little better. The manager also advised me that way. I'm just trying to hit the ball close as it comes. Of course, I swing hard to make solid contact, but I'm not overdoing it."
An unexpected heatwave break also aided his reorganization. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) canceled 15 games scheduled from July 7th to 9th across five stadiums nationwide (Seoul Jamsil, Suwon, Daejeon, Daegu, Changwon) due to consecutive heatwaves.
Na Seung-yeop stated firmly, "Busan was really quite hot last week. It's still hot now, but I need to get this sorted out. Fortunately, it seems like a time for recharging. Although training in Suwon felt unfamiliar, I exercised just the same. The adjusted batting stance seems fine, so it will be important to perform well in the remaining games. I am now ready to give 100%."
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
