'Lotte's six-game winning streak and the 'Busan Shark' phenomenon were unknown to him.' Only focused on the national team emblem, Yoon Dong-hei returns to Busan with a bat: "I will make the fans smile even more." [Incheon Airport]

*This content was translated by AI.

For the past week, Yoon Dong-hei (23) had neither Lotte Giants' six-game winning streak nor the 'Busan Shark' phenomenon that stirred up Busan in his mind. He, who had only engraved South Korea's championship in his mind, is now heading back to Lotte.

Yoon Dong-hei returned home through Incheon International Airport on the 28th after completing the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

While Yoon Dong-hei was focused on the national team in Japan, an unexpected event occurred in Busan. On the 18th, a white shark with a body length of about 3.5 meters appeared in the waterway at the Busan North Port Waterfront Park and gained attention by earning the nickname 'Busan Shark.' Coincidentally, from that same day, Lotte also forgot how to lose.

From the 18th to the 24th, they won six consecutive games. After defeating Hanwha Eagles 9-5 on the 23rd, they overturned a 0-4 deficit against LG Twins, who were on a seven-game winning streak at the time, and secured a 6-4 comeback victory on the 24th. Lotte, which seemed to be drifting away from the autumn baseball competition race, narrowed the gap to just 1.5 games behind sixth-place NC Dinos, rekindling their hopes for the end of the season.

However, Yoon Dong-hei did not even accurately know that Lotte had won six consecutive games since the appearance of the 'Busan Shark.' When reporters brought up the recent topic of Lotte's 'Busan Shark,' Yoon Dong-hei smiled and said, "I knew a shark had appeared. But I don't really believe in such things. For seven days, I was in a localized state."

This meant he set aside his concerns about Lotte and focused solely on the Asian Games team. It was that urgent for him.

Yoon Dong-hei failed to meet expectations this season with a batting average of 0.241 (60 hits in 249 at-bats), five home runs, 24 RBIs, 25 runs scored, an on-base percentage of 0.335, a slugging percentage of 0.353, and an OPS of 0.688 across 75 games. Eventually, he was removed from the first-division roster on the 3rd and was the only position player in the national team camp who belonged to the Futures League at the time of his call-up.

Yoon Dong-hei said, "To be honest, I wasn't comfortable when I was selected. My performance this year didn't fit with the national team." He added, "So I prepared even harder. The season is one thing, the league is another, and the national team is a different stage, so I thought I had to perform well according to that."

Yoon Dong-hei, who briefly focused on the Asian Games team instead of Lotte, became a different hitter. He appeared in all six games of this tournament, recording a batting average of 0.278 (5 hits in 18 at-bats), one home run, four RBIs, five runs scored, three walks, two strikeouts, and an OPS of 0.909. As the team's only right-handed outfielder, he clearly fulfilled his role.

He started with intensity. In the first group-stage match against Taiwan, he entered as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth inning and hit a solo home run. This was a precious piece of victory that allowed South Korea to maintain an advantageous position in the race for the final despite losing to Japan in the Super Round.

Regarding this, Yoon Dong-hei said, "I only realized how important (that home run) was after everything ended. Personally, it was a meaningful home run, but I didn't think much of its importance." He instead credited the pitchers, saying, "The pitchers played well, so my home run shone because of them."

In the match against Hong Kong on the 22nd, he performed with two hits in five at-bats, two RBIs, and one run scored. He also made his presence felt in the most important final match. Yoon Dong-hei, who started against Japan in the final on the 27th, hit a large double toward the right-field wall in the bottom of the second inning. Although he faced Shinichi Higuchi again, who had held the South Korean lineup scoreless for seven innings just two days prior in the Super Round, he turned that single experience into confidence instead.

Yoon Dong-hei said, "Since I've faced this pitcher before, I thought we could hit him even better. I decided not to show the same look again and tried to swing boldly from the first pitch." He added, "That led to our first run, so it's what I remember most."

South Korea defeated Japan 3-1 and secured the fifth consecutive gold medal in Asian Games baseball history. Yoon Dong-hei won his second personal gold medal following the 2022 Hangzhou tournament, and this time he stood on the highest step of the podium alongside Lotte teammates Kim Jin-wook (24) and Choi Jun-yong (25).

Yoon Dong-hei calmly reflected, "In Hangzhou, we went so suddenly that I couldn't believe we had won, so it didn't feel real." He continued, "This time, after confirming the championship, I felt both very happy and relieved. It was a subtle emotion. However, personally, I think winning this tournament is much more valuable. Not only me, but the older players who came in as wild cards also went through a lot of hardship. Every player performed well, so it was the most valuable."

Meanwhile, Lotte's six-game winning streak ended with a 2-6 loss to Hanwha on the 27th. Still, they finished with six wins and one loss in their recent seven games. They are now facing the end of the season under a clearly different atmosphere than before Yoon Dong-hei left. Now, for Yoon Dong-hei as well, Lotte's time begins again.

Yoon Dong-hei revealed his honest feelings: "Even though my performance wasn't good before going to the Asian Games, Lotte teammates encouraged me a lot, saying, 'Since you're going to the national team, you have to do well there.' I was glad that I could meet their expectations, and from the club's perspective, it is truly a happy thing as fellow teammates. Now I think we can smile."

Before joy, he thought of the fans who had watched him throughout this season. Yoon Dong-hei said, "I told you many times how sorry I am for this year. It seems difficult to finish with good results, and the team is also far from autumn baseball." He added, "Still, I hope the fans can find some comfort at least with this gold medal. In the remaining games, I want to do my best until the end without injury alongside my teammates so that when we say goodbye at the very end, the fans can smile a little more."

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*This content was translated by AI.