It was not enough that only three backup second basemen were registered in the first team entry, which was unfortunate to hit, and an 꽁머니사이트 outfielder was appointed to the infield for the first time in four years. I expected it, but the vacancy of captain Kim Sun-bin (34, KIA Tigers) is more than I imagined.
Prior to the game against the LG Twins in Gwangju on the 10th, KIA registered first baseman Hwang Dae-in (27) and infielder Choi Jeong-yong (27) as first-team entries, and canceled pitchers Yoon Joong-hyeon (28) and Kim Ho-ryeong (31).
With Choi Jeong-yong coming up, KIA has four players in the first team entry, including Park Chan-ho (28), Kim Gyu-seong (26), and Hong Jong-pyo (23), only players who can see second baseman. Kim Do-young (20), who mainly plays shortstop and third baseman, is five, considering that he can play second base in an emergency.
It is the aftermath of Kim Sun-bin’s injury vacancy. On the 8th, KIA announced that captain Kim Sun-bin was canceled from the first team entry due to a hamstring injury. No matter how fast it is, a return is expected at the end of August. This season, Kim Sun-bin recorded a batting average of 0.299, 28 RBIs, 22 runs, an on-base percentage of 0.366, a slugging percentage of 0.344, and an OPS of 0.710 without a home run in 71 games.
He is worse than in his prime in both hitting and defense, but at least so far he is an irreplaceable player in KIA. It is evident just by looking at the performance of the three backup second basemen who came up to replace his vacancy right away. The most outstanding was Kim Kyu-seong with a batting average of 0.209 (19 hits in 91 at-bats) and an OPS of 0.569. Choi Jeong-yong, who came up this time with a batting average of 0.077 (1 hit in 13 at-bats), followed, followed by Hong Jong-pyo, who had no hits in 3 at-bats this season. Even if the performances of all three players are combined, the batting average is only 0.187 (20 hits in 107 at-bats).
Because of that, outfielder Lee Chang-jin (32) made an infield appearance for the first time in four years in the match against KIA in Gwangju on the 9th. Lee Chang-jin, who was put in as a pinch hitter in the defense at the beginning of the 7th inning when the KIA was behind 0-3, came on as a third baseman. Starting third baseman Kim Do-yeong moved to the shortstop and shortstop Park Chan-ho moved to the second baseman one space at a time. Hong Jong-pyo was the backup, but it was a desperate measure to strengthen both offense and defense.
However, a temporary expedient was only a temporary expedient. At the beginning of the 7th inning, Lee Chang-jin was unable to deal with Jung Joo-hyun’s ground ball in the crisis with 1 company on 1st and 2nd base. The worst situation unfolded when Kim Do-young, who was behind him, caught it and hurriedly threw a bad throw to second base, giving up one run. Afterwards, Kim Do-young and Lee Chang-jin made up for their mistakes by handling groundballs safely, but in the 9th inning with one out, 2nd and 3rd base, even Park Chan-ho threw an unfortunate throw to home, and KIA had to accept a 2-6 defeat.
The result of the day resulted in an inefficient situation where only the second baseman resource, who was not good at batting, occupied three positions in the first team entry. The situation is 180 degrees different from the saturated outfield with Lee Woo-seong (29) with a batting average of 0.296 and Ko Jong-wook (34) with a batting average of 0.304 as backups.
It’s a worry that wouldn’t have happened if Ryu Ji-hyuk (29) had been left, but for now, third baseman Kim Do-young and shortstop Park Chan-ho and second baseman Kim Kyu-seong and Choi Jeong-yong’s infield are the best in all aspects of offense and defense. The left field competition that started under manager Kim Jong-guk led to the discovery of all-star outfielder Lee Woo-sung. The second base showcase has just begun due to the absence of Kim Sun-bin’s injury. Will KIA be able to find the second Lee Woo-sung in the infield?