Superstar is coming ML 88 Home Runs Can't Push Foreigners Out…KIA's Domestic Gunners How to Survive
Jan 05, 2025
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KIA Tigers' Lee Woo-sung (31) is one of the players whose position has narrowed due to the joining of new foreign batter Patrick Wisdom (34). KIA signed a total of 1 million dollars (about 1.4 billion won) with Wisdom last month. Wisdom is a member of the Chicago Cubs of the U.S. Major League Baseball and boasts a total of 88 home runs in the big leagues with more than 20 home runs every year from 2021 to 2023. KIA persuaded Wisdom, who played in Mexico's Winter League after last season and was seeking to re-enter the big league, to sign the contract while searching for a home run hitter.
KIA considers Wisdom the first baseman. Wisdom played mainly as a third baseman in the United States, but the current KIA third baseman is Kim Do-young (22), the KBO League MVP last year. In the first place, there was no option for Wisdom to play as a third baseman, and he agonized over two things: first baseman and outfielder. KIA believes that the first baseman is more suitable to maximize Wisdom's batting ability. There is a possibility that Wisdom's defense will be directly checked during the spring camp and variables will arise, but anyway, the first baseman is Wisdom in KIA's new season plan.
With Wisdom joining as first baseman, Lee Woo-sung and Byun Woo-hyuk (25) are the most affected players. As the first baseman last year, Lee Woo-sung played 670 ⅓ innings in 87 games and Byun Woo-hyuk played 314 innings in 53 games. Veteran Seo Geon-chang (36), who is currently an FA, followed with 276 ⅔ in 51 games. The three players shared responsibility, and to be honest, it can be said that no one took the first baseman. This is why KIA tried to fix Wisdom as the first baseman.
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Lee Woo-sung prepares to play as both a first baseman and an outfielder. He will conduct personal training with the support of Choi Hyung-woo (42), a veteran of the same team, in Guam from the 4th, and said he will take all the first baseman mitts and outfielder gloves to train.
Lee Woo-sung said "With Socrates Brito out of the field, a new tremendous player, superstar (Wizdom) came to our team." I definitely don't have my place, so I think I'll have to prepare for both the outfielder and the first baseman. Originally, players who have to prepare for both of them are expected to increase the value of utility, he said.
Byun Woo-hyuk is an infielder with a third baseman and a first baseman as the main position. Like Lee Woo-sung, it is difficult to prepare for a double job as an outfielder, so it is difficult to avoid competition with Kim Do-young and Wisdom. Byun Woo-hyuk has to prepare to cover both seats as a backup for now, and wait for an opportunity that doesn't know when it will come. Just as he hit .304 (51 hits in 168 at-bats) with five home runs, 21 RBIs and an OPS of 0.839 last year, he should continue to appeal his presence with the bat.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
