Every choice has a reason and there is a causal relationship. Lotte Han Dong-hee (25) can now belatedly put a pause in his career.

On the 26th, Lotte announced the support of infielder Han Dong-hee, as well as pitchers Lee Jin-ha and Lee Tae-yeon, to the Armed Forces Athletic Corps. The results of the document screening will be announced within February and a physical fitness evaluation will be conducted. The final results are expected to be released in March. 

Considering the experience of Han Dong-hee, who joined the team as a first-round pick in 2018 and is entering his 7th season this year, and has played full-time for the past 4 consecutive seasons, passing the Sangmu position is no different from a foregone conclusion. Han Dong-hee's career has finally come to a halt. The club said, “Coach Kim Tae-hyung and Han Dong-hee have been discussing enlistment since the final camp. “Han Dong-hee himself also thought about and decided on the timing of his enlistment,” he explained.  

Han Dong-hee entered the professional ranks after being evaluated as having the potential of a ‘post-Lee Dae-ho’. However, his career did not go smoothly from his debut season. In his first year of debut in 2018, he batted in 87 games with a batting average of .203, 49 hits in 211 at-bats, 4 home runs, 25 RBIs, and an OPS of .639. Although he showed some potential, his performance did not live up to his expectations.

And in 2019, the club promoted military enlistment. However, in the end, after discussions between the field and the club, it was decided that he would play out 2019. However, in 2019, Han Dong-hee failed to reach his potential. In 59 games, he recorded a batting average of .203 (38 hits in 187 at-bats), 2 home runs, 9 RBIs, and an OPS of .554. A regression from his debut season.  

Even after the 2019 season ended, he pushed for military enlistment, but he ended up playing the season, and from this year onwards, his potential began to slowly unfold. In 135 games, he finished with a batting average of .207, 8 ERA (128 hits in 461 at-bats), 17 home runs, 67 RBI, and an OPS of .797. It was his first full-time season. Afterwards, Han Dong-hee's grades gradually improved. In 2021, he hit .

In 2022, he had a strong season, winning the MVP award in April, but he slowed down due to a series of hamstring and side injuries. Still, in 129 games, he left with a batting average of .377 (140 hits in 456 at-bats), 14 home runs, 65 RBIs, and an OPS of .817. His batting average, hits, and OPS were career highs. 

Han Dong-hee was on the right track, and the only thing left to do was to take a complete leap forward. 2023 was also a more important season for Han Dong-hee than anyone else. There was an Asian Games in Hangzhou, and with his gold medal around his neck, he could even look at military service exemption. 

However, changes were attempted starting from the 2022 final camp. He attempted to correct it with a mechanism to lift the batted ball and increase the distance. It was a change to become the slugger Han Dong-hee. But this change became toxic. Han Dong-hee fell into confusion as he failed to change, and in this process, he lost his strengths and even lost confidence. Her readjustment period in group 2 also did not work. 

In the end, she failed to rebound throughout the season and could not even dream of being selected to the Asian Games team. He finished the season with a batting average of .223 in 108 games (71 hits in 319 at-bats), 5 home runs, 32 RBIs, and an OPS of .583. 

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