Team batting → final hit for the semifinals even though it has 25 home runs. A genius batter who has recovered his pride. "Pull and hit on purpose. I'm never satisfied."
Sep 25, 2024
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KT Wiz's Kang Baek-ho became a treasure toward the team's fifth round with the best pinch-hitter card of 'One Shot One Kill'.
Kang Baek-ho appeared as a pinch hitter at second base with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, when the score was tied 1-1 at home against the Lotte Giants at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 24th, and had a valuable RBI right-handed hit.
Kang Baek-ho, who entered the batter's box in place of Bae Jeong-dae, who struck out two on the same day, faced the changed left-handed pitcher Chung Hyun-soo. In 2B1S, Chung Hyun-soo pulled a low-on slider of 124km, which became a right-handed hit that pierced between the first and second basemen. Later, Kim Min-hyuk's timely hit and Jang Sung-woo's two-run home run continued, and KT immediately led 5-1 to solidify its victory. KT, whose mound won by keeping a four-point lead, continued its hope for fifth place by widening its victory over SSG Landers, which lost to the LG Twins, to one game.
In the important two consecutive games against SSG on the 21st and 22nd, he appeared as a pinch hitter in an important chance, but he couldn't get a hit and had to lower his head. On the 21st, he stopped at the ground ball in front of the first base at the bottom of the eighth inning with one out and runners on the first and third bases, and on the 22nd, he appeared with the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning when he was trailing 0-2 and hit a ground ball in front of the shortstop. Still, he washed away his previous slump by hitting an important winning hit against Lotte on the day.
He has a batting average of 287 (155 for 540) with 25 homers and 94 RBIs in 142 games this season. He has certainly come up from his slump over the past two years, showing his slugging ability and RBI ability.
Kang Baek-ho said, `I was really sorry that I couldn't contribute to the team in important situations. Even when I went out as a pinch hitter, both the team and the fans would have believed in me at that moment, but I was sorry that I couldn't show the result of living up to my belief. "Today, I was going to make a team bet to send it to third base because there was a runner on second base in Mousae." So trying to pull led to a course hit."
Kang Baek-ho then vowed that `I will continue to train and work hard to regain my good form as the team is having an important time in the ranking fight for the autumnal Agu.'
indyk@sportschosun.com
