2024-05-03 22:45:42
Kang Baek-ho, whose hitting is exploding after finding his ‘defensive aptitude’, Moon Sang-cheol, a ‘late cutter’ who makes us forget Park Byeong-ho’s sluggish performance, and Cheon Seong-ho, a ‘lucky second baseman’. The ‘slow starter’ KT Wiz appears to be gaining momentum this time with the power of the bat rather than the mound.
KT won 12-5 in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League game against KIA Tigers held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 2nd.
As a result, KT decorated the three-game series during the week with a winning series of 2 wins and 1 loss. The team that is ranked 9th on the leaderboard has reduced its margin of victory and loss against the leader.
KT’s start to this season wasn’t good. With the trusted mound collapsing, the departure of key players due to injuries occurred once again like an ‘annual event’. The departure of native ace Ko Young-pyo and the starting center fielder was so significant that it did not seem easy to bounce back this time.
But this time too, KT is gaining strength more slowly than others. They have risen from the bottom of the rankings with 6 wins and 4 losses in the last 10 games. The gap with the 8th place Hanwha Eagles is 0.5 games, and the 6th place Kiwoom Heroes are also within range with a 3 game gap.
The situation is somewhat different from previous years when it was called the ‘Pitcher Kingdom’. KT’s team ERA is still the lowest among the 10 teams, being the only one in the 6-point range (6.29).
Even if there were many things that were forgotten in the beginning, it is true that the mound is still unstable. Two rookie pitchers, Yuk Cheong-myeong and Won Sang-hyeon, are in the starting rotation, and the winning team is still not complete, except for closer Park Young-hyun, who has returned to a stable state.
The batting line is supporting this unstable mound. In previous years, KT’s batting lineup felt more ‘cohesive’ rather than ‘strong’, but this year’s batting lineup has definitely become stronger.
To date, the team batting average is 0.284, ranking third after leader KIA (0.298) and LG (0.291), which ranked first in team batting average last year. The team’s score is 197 points, ranking second after KIA (201 points), and the team’s home runs (37) are also third.
The person leading the batting lineup is the ‘awakened’ Kang Baek-ho. Called a ‘genius hitter’ and evaluated as the league’s best talent along with Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants), he has been in a slump for the past two years due to injuries, but is spreading his wings again this season.
Coincidentally, his batting skills improved as he played defense as a catcher at the beginning of the season. He appears to be invigorated as he finds clothes that fit him. He plays catcher once or twice a week and shows his old fierceness in batting.
He reached the 10 home run milestone before the end of April, and his batting average is also respectable at 0.327. He recently had a multi-hit streak in 5 consecutive games and his batting average in 10 games reached 0.429.
Moon Sang-cheol’s performance cannot be left out. Moon Sang-cheol, now 33 years old, has always been classified as a pinch hitter or backup within the team, but this year, he took advantage of the slump of starting first baseman Park Byeong-ho and leapt to the starting level.
To date, he has played in 30 games and is active with a batting average of 0.356, 7 home runs, and 17 RBIs, and his batting average in scoring range is 0.375. It is true that coach Lee Kang-cheol has not been given much attention due to his nature of placing importance on defense, but he is seizing the opportunity this year.
‘Blessed’ Cheon Seong-ho is also a key resource for KT. He has taken over the second base position, which has been a problem for KT for a long time, and is active as one of the best alternate hitters in the league.
To date, he is 5th in the league with a batting average of 0.340 and 1st in hits (51) and runs (32). Cheon Seong-ho, who was the batting champion of the Futures League last year, appears to be establishing himself as the best leadoff in the first team this year.
Despite the departure of Bae Jeong-dae and the sluggish performance of Park Byeong-ho and Hwang Jae-gyun, these three players have continued to perform well, and thanks to this, KT’s batting lineup as a whole has been reviving recently. Starting with Hwang Jae-gyun, Jang Seong-woo, Kim Min-hyuk, and Kim Sang-soo also appear to be gradually improving their skills.
KT is scheduled to return, starting with Go Young-pyo at the end of this month and including So Hyun-jun in June. Before their return, the team atmosphere, which could have completely collapsed, is being held up by the power of the batting line.
(Seoul = News 1)
2024-05-03 22:45:42