Noh Jin-hyeok (35) of the Lotte Giants, who crossed the Nakdong River with high expectations through free agents, had a disappointing season. As if he has not made a mistake twice, Noh is sharpening his sword and preparing for the 2024 season.
“Last year, I lacked a lot. I want to recover my self-esteem,” Noh told Star News at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on Wednesday.
This off-season, Noh has been sweating profusely as he moves back and forth between baseball stadiums and private training centers. “When it comes to sports, I’m doing it there because the center fits me well, and I’m doing skills training such as catching, running, and hitting at the ballpark,” Noh said.
Noh continues his hard work because last year was too disappointing for him. Ahead of last season, he signed a four-year contract with Lotte for a total of 5 billion won (2.2 billion won in down payment, 2.4 billion won in annual salary, and 400 million won in option). Lotte kept in touch with Noh from midnight on the first day of negotiations, and eventually fell for his sincerity and chose to move to Lotte.
Lotte chose Noh because he displayed good batting performance as a shortstop and third baseman. After graduating from Dongsung High School and Sungkyunkwan University in Gwangju, he joined the NC Dinos in 2012 and played in 801 games through the 2022 season with a batting average of 0.266 (615 hits in 2309 times at bat) with 71 homers, 331 RBIs, 305 runs scored, and eight stolen bases with an OPS of 0.761.
Since his discharge from the Sangmu Baseball Organization in 2018, Noh has successfully bulked up his team and has become an infielder with double-digit home runs. In 2020, when the NC Dinosaurs won the title for the first time, he played 132 games with a batting average of 0.274 (117 hits in 427 times at bat) with 20 homers, 82 RBIs, 70 runs and an OPS of 0.836. In that year, he was recognized for his value in the Golden Glove shortstop category by earning 12 votes. In 2022, the year before the FA, he also had a productive season with 15 homers and 75 RBIs. In response, Lotte said it highly evaluated Noh’s slugging ability and expects that he will bring positive influence to the team’s infield.
However, the result was unexpected. Noh appeared in 113 games in the 2023 season with a batting average of 0.257 (86 for 334) with four homers, 51 RBIs and seven stolen bases with an OPS of 0.724. He contributed to the batting lineup with a batting average of 0.287, three homers and an OPS of 0.800 until the end of May, and was loved by many fans as he served as a troubleshooter in critical situations. However, he failed to show his best performance since he left the team in mid-June due to side pain. He raised his record by focusing on contact in the second half of the year, but he was disappointed in many aspects. “I came as a FA, but I had a hard time because I couldn’t get a good result in the first year,” he said.
Coincidentally, Lotte, which was in the third place until May when Noh Jin-hyuk showed good performance, continued to fall, recording six consecutive luge series in June alone. In the end, Lotte ranked seventh overall with 68 wins and 76 losses (0.472) in 144 games last season. It was seven games apart from the fifth-ranked Doosan Bears, and likewise, it was inevitable to see the LG Twins, who had not won for a long time, take the top spot for the first time in 29 years.
Roh Jin-hyuk, who looked back on the past year, confessed, “I think it would have worked out well if there was a good flow without getting hurt, but I personally felt very sorry that I was defeated once there was a good atmosphere.” “I should have rowed when the water came in because I was in a good mood while winning consecutive games, but the players went down one by one as they were sick and left,” he said. “I was responsible, but I felt a little sorry for that, and I had a hard time myself.”
Roh himself suffered as much as the injury because of the lack of home runs. Except for 2021 (eight home runs) when he suffered from back injury, he has consistently hit double-digit home runs since he became a full-time mainstay. However, he only hit four home runs last year. It took 136 days (October 1 against Sajik Samsung) for Roh to hit his fourth home run after hitting his third homer of this season in the match against Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on May 18. He recorded a career-high with 26 doubles, but he has no choice but to remain disappointed. “It was a season when I was chased after all year,” he said.
Nevertheless, it is positive to me that the new coach Kim Tae-hyung (57) has called for aggressive attacks. “If the batting average is too low (psychologically), I was just trying to match it,” Noh said. “Since the coach is a person who tends to be aggressive, I think he will be able to find his original position if he is more aggressive.”
Another positive development is the restriction on defensive shifts. The Korea Baseball Organization recently banned defensive shifts for the 2024 season, but the positions of third and shortstop on the left and second and first basemen on the right have been changed. “Personally, I love (the ban on shift) so much. I think I caught more than 20 with shifts last year, but I suffered a lot as I pulled it out,” he said positively. 월카지노도메인
Noh plans to fulfill his role as a senior coach under the new coach system. He talked with his juniors and showed leadership since his days at the NC Dinosaurs, and after moving to the Hanwha Eagles last year, he reportedly watched silently to give strength to his captain An Chi-hong. “I tend to scold my juniors a lot, but I feel frustrated because I can’t do it,” he said. “I will do my best to bring the infielders together.”
To that end, Noh will lead by example from himself. “I’m going to be nosy and push hard on my juniors. I need to lead by example to be in a position where I can say something to the players,” he said. “I’m going to get a lot of funkos at the spring camp, and I’m going to try to drag the players even if I don’t want to,” he said, jokingly warning. “It’s my style,” he also welcomed Kim Min-ho’s 55-year-old defensive coach’s energetic performance, saying, “If you start with a senior, of course, juniors will do it.”
Fortunately for Noh Jin-hyuk, Oh Sun-jin (35) who will carry the burden of a veteran in the infield, joined the team through the second draft last year. Noh Jin-hyuk, who has been close enough to sleep at Oh’s house since elementary school, said, “We are going to rely on each other and do it together.” “I think junior players have a lot to learn from watching him,” he said.
In his second season with Lotte, Noh is taking on the role of troubleshooter once again. “I want to surpass double-digit home runs again. I originally liked posting RBIs, but the number of homeruns last year was only 51. I want to hit more than 70 this year,” he said.