"Actually, if it wasn't then, the player wouldn't have been known to me, so if it's a good memory, it's a good memory. But considering that swing grew because of that time, I think there were both advantages and disadvantages."메이저놀이터

Song Chan-ui was a sensation in the spring of 2022. He hit six home runs during the exhibition game. He tied the record for the most home runs in an exhibition game in a single season. Since then, Song has been nicknamed "home run king in an exhibition game." At first, he meant potential, but at some point, he became more meaningful as he failed to show any more presence.

For the past three years, Song has been a career-high player in exhibition games in 2022. He played in 33 games during the 2022 regular season, but only had a batting average of 0.236 and three homers. As his position on defense was uncertain, he had to limit his ability to play in games. Under Yeom Kyung-yeop, he played less frequently. He only played in 19 games (batting average of 0.056) in 2023 and 10 games (batting average of 0.067) in 2024. It was hard to vaguely give a chance to a player with a batting average of less than 10%.

With last year's closing camp, Song started to draw attention from the first-team coaching staff again. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop judged that backup is necessary to address the team's weakness and overload of the main fielders, which led to post-season struggles, and decided to give Song a chance when he showed signs of change. It was a different start from last year when he said he would make the starting pitcher for a week but withdrew it after a few games.

Song did not miss this opportunity. As the sixth designated hitter at the opening game on Tuesday, he made three hits and one RBI from four times at bat, contributing to his landslide 12-2 victory.

Given that Lotte's starting pitcher is left-hander Charlie Barnes, the opening game on Sunday was an opportunity to win by himself based on his performance on Tuesday. Right-hander Park Se-woong took the mound on Sunday, but Song remained in the starting lineup.

He hit a home run in the sixth inning. When Park's slider came in high, it flew out of the left fence. The speed of his ball was 172.0 kilometers per hour and the estimated flying distance was 119.5 meters. It was his first revival shot in 898 days since the game against NC on Oct. 7, 2022. "As the breaking balls kept coming in, I tried to swing accordingly. Luckily, it led to a good result," Song said after the game. When I was running around the base, I got goosebumps from fans' shouting.

Song Chan-eui also said, "The coach always emphasizes accuracy. I also tended to increase my swing with a lot of home runs (in the 2022 exhibition game), and my body tended to open at once. I tried to go in the direction that the coach wanted, and I supplemented it with the help of coach Mo Chang-min and Kim Jae-yul. I think more about accuracy and direction of hitting these days because once you hit it correctly, you can get a strong hit and a strong hit.

His performance in the 2022 exhibition games was a good memory for Song and a barrier to overcome. "Actually, if it wasn't for that time, the player would not have been known to me, so if it's a good memory, it's a good memory," he said. "But considering that the swing got bigger because of that time, I think there were both advantages and disadvantages." He also said, "Still, I think the results come out because I tried to be different. Thank you to the coaches and the older brothers."