▲ Samsung’s Jeon Byung-woo ⓒ Samsung Lions
▲ Powered by Jeon Byung-woo’s grand slam, Samsung defeated LG to secure their eighth straight win and climb to second place. ⓒ Samsung Lions
In a game that gave his team their first eight-game winning streak in 12 years and reclaimed second place, Samsung Lions’ Jeon Byung-woo, the hero of the grand slam, admitted he had actually hoped the opportunity would not come to him. He wanted the heart of the lineup to handle the situation and wished the bases would stay empty. But when the moment arrived, he changed his mindset, deciding to “get it done.” The result was a grand slam that completely shifted the game’s momentum in Samsung’s favor.
On June 12 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, the Samsung Lions routed the LG Twins 9-1 in the 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League, extending their winning streak to eight. After allowing a game-tying run in the bottom of the seventh but escaping further damage, Samsung exploded in the top of the eighth inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, Jeon Byung-woo delivered a grand slam that swung the game. He added a sacrifice fly in another bases-loaded situation in the ninth inning, driving in five runs total.
Yet after the game, Jeon hinted at his earlier reluctance with a shy smile: “Honestly, I was hoping that (Gu) Ja-wook or Diaz or (Choi) Hyung-woo would handle it first.” Then he laughed openly, saying, “I didn’t have many good memories lately from bases-loaded situations, so I was really worried. I thought, ‘Why is this trial coming to me again?'”
Despite his own concern, Jeon’s numbers with the bases loaded this season are strong: 4 hits in 9 at-bats for a .444 average, making him the second-most prolific hitter in such situations. SSG’s Park Sung-han leads with 5 hits in 7 at-bats, while teammate Guillermo Heredia also has 4 hits in 9 at-bats.
▲ Jeon Byung-woo ⓒ Samsung Lions
But Jeon’s recent struggles were real. The most vivid example came just days earlier, on June 6 against Kiwoom in Daegu, where he hit into a triple play. That memory still seemed fresh. In the game on June 8 against NC in Changwon, he faced two bases-loaded chances—striking out in one and driving in a run with a single in the other. Then, just four days later, with the bases loaded again, he powered one over the fence.
When the eighth-inning grand slam put the game away, Jeon admitted he didn’t hear fans yelling “grand slam” in the moment. But by the ninth, with another bases-loaded opportunity, the cheers were loud enough to reach him. Reflecting on that at-bat, he said, “To be honest, I was trying to look for a pitch to drive. That’s probably why I put too much power behind it and ended up with a sacrifice fly.”
Regarding the eighth-inning home run, Jeon explained, “I wasn’t specifically looking for a slider. Sometimes when I try to sit on a pitch, the results aren’t good. I just focused on seeing a fastball and reacted well. I was looking middle-in, and it turned out to be a slider that broke in from the inner half—so I think that’s why I got a good result.”
With two outs and the bases loaded, Jeon said there was no room for hesitation. “It was already two outs, so a sacrifice fly wasn’t possible anyway. Earlier, with a runner on first and no outs, I was itching to swing. But this time, I was determined to make it happen,” he said.