Will Kiwoom Heroes Seo Kun-chang, the only player with 200 hits in Korean professional baseball, be able to regain the MVP glory of those days?스포츠토토
Seo Kun-chang took first place in both categories with a batting average of 0.362 and 17 hits in the demonstration game that ended on the 28th. If each team plays 13 to 14 games, what does individual ranking mean? Seo Kun-chang is a different story.
He gave up free agency again last winter. Because his performance last year was so poor. He only played in 77 games last year due to an oblique muscle injury and sluggishness. His batting average dropped to 0.224, the lowest since his debut. He gave up the free agent qualification he first obtained a year ago because of poor performance, but the situation did not improve.
He is a so-called third year free agent this year. In order to secure his starting position, he endured all training sessions, including field training, with gritted teeth. The exhibition match is the period during which the possibility was explored. Seo Kun-chang’s batting average in this demonstration game is the highest since 2017 (0.429). For Seo Geon-chang, who just turned 34 this year, his personal title may be a luxury. However, he confirmed LG’s leadoff second baseman.
Seo Kun-chang hit 201 hits during his 2014 Heroes days, setting the only 200-hit milestone in the KBO League. At the time of 128 games per team, Seo Geon-chang hit with fierce momentum in the second half and became the regular season MVP with a batting average of 0.370 (201 hits in 543 at-bats), 135 runs, and an on-base percentage of 0.438.
He joined LG as a foster player in 2008 and started his professional career. And conquered his KBO in just two years. At the beginning of the 2015 season, he ran to first base against the Doosan Bears and suffered a knee ligament rupture injury in a collision with Ko Young-min. That era was the heyday of Seo Geon-chang.
With the momentum of this demonstration game, there is no law telling Seo Kun-chang not to compete again in batting average and most hits. Seo Geon-chang, who has gone through a lot of pre-natal battles, doesn’t need much technical orders. He only needs to care about the confidence to run forward, the unshakable heart of Jung Jung-dong, and the prevention of injury.
Seo Kun-chang’s revival is a player’s personal desire, but it is also a box office factor in terms of KBO League attractions. This is because he can draw a competition with Lee Jung-hoo, the current strongest hitter. When Lee Jung-hoo debuted, Seo Geon-chang was like a model answer to him. It was in his contact ability and quick feet.
Seo Geon-chang has 556 career walks, more than 519 strikeouts. With 201 hits, he made a name for himself as the quintessential contact hitter in 2014 with 59 walks and 47 strikeouts. Lee Jung-hoo recorded 66 walks and 32 strikeouts while batting average of 0.349 last year. His career walks and strikeouts were 334 and 281 respectively, a 1.19 ratio. It is slightly higher than Seo Geonchang (1.07). It is a record that is highly evaluated in the major leagues, which is the goal of advancing next year.
Lee Jung-hoo hit 1076 hits for six years until last year, and raised his career batting average to 0.342. He ranks first in batting average among all-time hitters with 2,000 or more at-bats, and has the most hits ever in a six-year span. However, Lee Jung-hoo has yet to hit 200 hits. The 193 hits he hit in 2019 and last season are his personal best.
In terms of goals, 200 hits is bound to be a common denominator with Seo Geon-chang. We look forward to perhaps the last hit match between Seo Geon-chang and Lee Jung-hoo, who are indispensable in the genealogy of batting masters.