HOME RUN HITTER EMERGES AS NEW BASEBALL STAR

[Anchor Lead]

A new type of homerun hitter has emerged in the near 40 year history of Korea's professional baseball league. Lee Jung-hoo of Kiwoom Heroes is establishing himself as a power hitter, recording double digit home runs already this year. He may well put a break on the top lead held by KT Wiz's Dominican-American Mel Rojas.

[Pkg]

​Lee Man-soo, Kim Bong-yeon, Park Byung-ho and Lee Dae-ho... Standout homerun sluggers until now were known for their well built physique. Lee Jung-hoo has a relatively smaller build but already this season, he's scored 13 homers. His weight training coupled with his swing strength has improved his batting speed. Short distance hits have gone up to 10 kilometers per hour and extra base hits 5 kilometers per hour compared to last year. But this has not compromised his batting average.

[Soundbite] LEE JUNG-HOO(KIWOOM HEROES) : "I'm not a home run hitter so I always enter the batter's box to score a hit but if the ball happens to hit the center of the bat, then it's a homer."

During a match with the Hanwha Eagles, Lee clinched his first ever walk-off home run. His batting average for August is close to 0.400. He is narrowing the gap with KT Wiz's Mel Rojas in both batting average and the most hits as the pair battle for the top spot. But aside from personal titles, Lee's goal is winning this season to gain his own ground and break away from the shadow of his famous father Lee Jong-beom.

[Soundbite] LEE JUNG-HOO(KIWOOM HEROES) : "I had won in elementary, middle and high school years but not yet in the pro league. This year, I want to erase my father's name and create a name for myself."

Armed with innate talent and his own hard work, Lee is even mentioned as a possible candidate for this year's MVP. He is continuously evolving as a batter and rising as THE player to hold back the lead held by Rojas in seven batting areas.