KIA Tigers outfielders Lee Woo-sung and Choi Won-joon, who helped them win the integrated championship last year, are in a serious slump. In the early days of this season, Lee Woo-sung has shown insufficient trends in both ball and defense, and even Choi Won-joon seems to be regretting the burden of preliminary FA.메이저놀이터
KIA lost 1-3 in the 2025 Shinhan Sol Bank KBO League KT Wiz match at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 21st. KIA, which lost 3-5 the previous day, lost four consecutive games and lost two consecutive wins and lost the winning series early.
KIA faced KT starting pitcher Ko Young-pyo on the day with starting batting order consisting of Park Chan-ho (striker), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Oh Sun-woo (left fielder), Han Jun-su (catcher), Choi Won-joon (right fielder), Park Jung-woo (middle fielder), and Kim Kyu-sung (first baseman). Kia's starting pitcher was Ohler.
After going scoreless in the top of the first inning, Kia gave up the first run in the bottom of the first inning. In the bottom of the first inning, when the team was in crisis with one out and runners on the first and third bases given up by hits to Hwang Jae-gyun and Ahn Hyun-min, Kia was hit by a fly ball to the right field by Jang Sung-woo. However, due to an error that right fielder Choi Won-joon missed, the team allowed runners to base on the fly ball for the first time and lost the first time. The KIA bench immediately started replacing Choi with Kim Ho-ryeong. KIA allowed Rojas to lose another run after hitting an RBI double to right-center in the crisis with one out and runners on first and second bases.
KIA, which chased by one point with Kim Do-young's sacrifice fly ball in the top of the third inning, gave up an additional timely double to Hwang Jae-kyun in the bottom of the sixth inning, giving up a painful additional run.
KIA met with opposing closer Park Young-hyun in the top of the ninth inning and pulled out Lee Woo-sung's pinch-hitting card when Kim Kyu-sung was at bat with one out. Lee made a good hit that went behind left field after seven pitches. However, Lee poured cold water on the tag-out while aiming for the second base. The final decision did not change despite the request for a video review. In the end, KIA lost by two points as even its last batter, Park Chan-ho, ended up hitting a fly ball to right field.
The biggest concern for the KIA team's batting lineup early this season is the severe poor batting performance of Lee Woo-sung and Choi Won-jun. The two players are suffering from double trouble, where poor batting leads to defensive instability. Choi Won-jun seemed to revive with multi-hits, including a two-run home run, against the Doosan Bears on the 17th after returning to the second division, but he remained silent with a total of eight hits in the two games he played. Choi Won-jun played in 38 games this season and recorded a batting average of 0.195, 24 hits, three home runs, 11 RBIs, 6 steals, a on-base percentage of 0.261, and a slugging percentage of 0.285.
KIA manager Lee Bum-ho met with on-site reporters, including Expots News, on the 21st and expressed regret, saying, "Choi Won-joon seems to be having a harder time this year than Lee Woo-sung (who has a bad batting feeling). Choi Won-joon said, "There are a lot more missed hits (than regular hits)," adding, "When I go to the second division once, my head gets a little neat and I often push for 5-10 games." Choi Won-joon hit a home run on the 17th and thought it would be like that, but since it's not going well from the next day, I'm feeling hot in my head about which direction to lead the outfield."
Choi Won-joon will acquire his first FA qualification after the end of the 2025 season. Manager Lee, who viewed this as a factor that Choi Won-joon was also mentally chased by, added, "Choi Won-joon needs to find his coolness here to have a good season. Since he is such an experienced player, I think he will be able to get the hang of it and go up."
Not only Choi Won-joon but also Lee Woo-sung fell into a slump with a batting average of 0.171 (six hits in 35 at-bats) in May. In addition, he played as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of the game on Monday, and even though he had a good batting performance against the opponent team's closing pitcher, he ended up regretting his loss at the second base.
Manager Lee Bum-ho said, "I regret Lee's poor performance. However, some analysts say that luck does not follow. Manager Lee pointed out to Lee at the beginning of this season that difficult balls from opposing pitchers often fly to him.
"I don't know if a good ball comes and I can't hit it well, but very tricky balls have often been thrown to opposing pitchers since the beginning of the season, especially to (Han) Junsu and (Lee) Woosung. Molly believes that if the number of balls increases little by little, she will be able to hit it well. That's why I try to give her more confidence," he said.
As such, coach Lee firmly believes that Choi Won-joon and Lee Woo-sung, who have been selected as the main players in the outfield this season, should rebound together. However, about two months have passed since the opening. If the time it takes to rebound is approaching the limit, it is time for Lee to make a decision. Attention is focusing on what direction Lee will maintain for Choi Won-joon and Lee Woo-sung.