“I’ll give you a big smile on my way out.”
Hwang Sung-bin, 27, a starting center fielder for the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), was dramatically invited to a star-studded festival when he was named as a replacement player for the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO All-Star Game, which was announced on March 3. SSG Landers outfielder Guillermo Heredia, who was named to the Dream All-Star Best 12, suffered a calf injury, opening the door for Hwang, who ranks fourth on the KBO’s all-time points list for outfielders.
“I wanted to go to the All-Star Game, and I’m glad I was able to go. I’m also happy that I finished fourth in the voting. But it’s a shame that I’m going because of Heredia’s injury. I wish Heredia hadn’t gotten hurt…,” he said of his first All-Star selection.
“It wasn’t my goal to play in the All-Star Game, but this year I wanted to go, and when you’re asked to go, it puts a lot of pressure on you to be funny. It’s a fun event, so I want to prepare well and give the fans a lot of laughs,” he added.
As you can see from his determination,
Hwang’s goal for his first All-Star Game is to win the Best Performance Award, not MVP. Lotte’s rookie Kim Min-seok won the Best Performance Award at last year’s All-Star Game.
“I said on the club’s YouTube channel that I would win the performance award for the second year in a row,” Hwang said. “I don’t want to win the MVP, but I want to win the performance award because it’s funny to go, and I think it’s the main event if I have fun,” he said, adding, “I rushed the preparation a bit. 바카라 필승법 It’s a fun event for everyone, so I’m going to have fun and prepare well. I think the fans voted for me to do that, and of course, if I get ‘overwhelmed,’ I will run out of the ballpark,” he laughed.
Hwang, who was selected with the 44th pick in the second round of the 2020 KBO Draft out of Soraego-Kyungnam University, has become one of Lotte’s top hitting products in his fifth year with the organization. He had the best first half of his career, batting .344 with 66 hits, four home runs, 16 RBIs, 57 runs scored and 34 stolen bases in 65 games.
In addition to his skills,
Hwang has become a favorite of Lotte fans for his gritty play. At times, his overeagerness has been criticized, but fans have come to appreciate his passion and nicknamed him the “Demon King.
“There are still a lot of games left to evaluate my first half,” Hwang said. At the end of the first half, the team won a lot of games, and we had the best win percentage in June. If the team maintains the same winning percentage in the second half of the season, I will be able to give myself a good score,” he said, showing off his team-first spirit.
Another point of interest in the second half of the season is Hwang’s challenge for the stolen base title. With 34 stolen bases, he finished the first half in second place, five behind leader Jo Sung-yueng (39 – Dusan Bears).
“There are still a lot of games left,” said Hwang. My older brothers, who are recognized in the field, are at the top, but I narrowed the gap,” he said. “I think it’s right to increase the success rate rather than the number in the second half, and I’m determined to live a lot.”