He hit the ball well, but he hit only 14 home runs for the past two years. The hitting machine is also aging curve? I found the cause. Should I shake off the humiliation?
Feb 14, 2025
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Last year, the LG Twins ranked third in team batting average (0.283) and second in team score (808 points). The team has Hong Chang-ki, who has the No. 1 on-base percentage, and Austin Dean, who has the No. 1 on-base percentage. However, there were many frustrating hits in important games due to the ups and downs.
The No. 2, which was played by top hitters Hong Chang-ki and Moon Sung-joo and Shin Min-jae, and the No. 3 and 4 of Austin and Moon Bo-kyung were strong batters, but they were jagged after No. 5.
And Kim Hyun-soo was in that disappointing lineup. Kim Hyun-soo was a built-in third hitter at the beginning of the season. He hit three times in 2023 when he won the championship.
However, in the first half, Kim had a batting average of 292, seven homers and 45 RBIs. Austin, the fourth batter, had a similar batting average of 297, but it was different from having 17 home runs and 70 RBIs. Austin had a batting average of 293 (29 hits in 99 at-bats) in the first half, while Kim Hyun-soo had a difference of 227 (22 hits in 97 at-bats).
In the end, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop made the decision to raise No. 4 Austin and No. 5 Moon Bo-kyung to No. 3 and No. 4 and No. 5 and No. 7 Kim Hyun-soo to No. 5, 6, and 7. Kim Hyun-soo, who came down to the lower lineup, had a batting average of 298, one home run and 24 RBIs in the second half, but his scoring batting average improved to 314 (16 hits in 51 at-bats). Putting down the pressure may have helped.
What was disappointing was the long shot. He hit only eight homers throughout the season, staying in single-digit homers for the second consecutive year following six in 2023. The slugging percentage was 418 percent, the lowest fourth after 382 percent in 2012, 383 percent in 2023, and 398 percent in 2007.
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Kim Hyun-soo knew the reason through the analysis and headed to the Arizona spring camp. Kim Hyun-soo said in an interview on his departure, `I'm still in good shape and condition. When analyzing with the power analysis team, there was no drop in bat speed or batting speed numerically"But I found the cause of the drop in the distance. There was a problem with the part that I was trying to hit more accurately."
Kim Hyun-soo "When I tried to hit it quickly, I turned my left hand inward a lot and held the bat. As a result, I hit a lot of ground balls, and the ball that I hit well also lost strength at the end. "Now that I know the cause, I think it will get better. If I'm not in good shape even during the season, I think I'll have to keep paying attention because my hands may wind up trying to hit quickly."
It is not known how coach Yeom will make his batting order this season. It is not known whether to play Hong Chang-ki, Moon Sung-joo (Shin Min-jae), Austin-Moon Bo-kyung as in the second half of last season or Hong Chang-ki, Moon Sung-joo, Kim Hyun-soo, Austin-Moon Bo-kyung as in the first half. If the results of the initial batting order are not good, the first batting order is not confirmed because you have to find the optimal batting order while changing it.
In order to increase LG's offense in any batting order, Kim Hyun-soo must hit with an RBI in the top lineup. If veterans Oh Ji-hwan and Park Hae-min, who showed sluggish performance together last year, revive together, it is worth playing with KIA Tigers with batting.
It is also an important time for Kim Hyun-soo, who is facing the fourth anniversary of his long-term contract worth a total of 11.5 billion won for 4+2 years.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
