After the short but intense All-Star break in the 2024 season of the KBO League, the team will begin to digest its schedule for the second half of the season. The ranking table is still fierce at an unpredictable level. The evidence shows that the winning rate of the last place exceeds 40 percent. Now that everyone is aiming for fall baseball, Kiwoom, the lowest ranking team, also mentioned counterattack in the second half of the season as its first goal.퀸알바
Heroes’ counterattack and Song Seong-moon are at the forefront. Having joined the Nexen Heroes as the 49th player in the fifth round of the 2015 Rookie Draft, he has entered his 10th year as a pro baseball player. In the first half alone, he had a batting average of 0.350 (96 hits in 274) with nine homers and 57 RBIs. His bat is hot enough to rank third in the batting race.
The previous best batting average for individuals was 0.313, in 2018. However, he only played 78 games (66 hits in 211 at-bats) in his batting average of 0.247 (135 hits in 547 at-bats) in 2022. He is different this year. He has developed into a built-in third baseman and a core member of the lineup, and has thus set a career high.
The graph showing a steady upward trajectory is the most impressive. In terms of monthly batting average, it rose sharply from 0.284 in March to April to 0.348 in May and to 0.409 in June through the first half of the year. In June, he hit the monthly record of 40 hits.
It is surprising to myself. “I feel good when (the number) is moderate, but now I feel like, ‘Is my score right?'” Song said with a bright smile. “I remember playing well for a short period of one to two weeks, but this is the first time I have maintained the pace for more than a month. It is fascinating, and I feel proud that the hard work has finally become mine,” he added.
What is the secret? “The fact that the defensive shift was missing worked really well for me. Last year, I was out whenever I got between the first and second bases. I was worried because I thought I had to push it somehow,” he said. “Such psychological pressure has decreased a lot. It’s not that there have been no technical changes, but the biggest reason why the batting average has risen this much is because of the deletion of the shift,” he added.
He also has a strong sense of responsibility. He became the breadwinner of his family after getting married in December last year, and took over the captaincy role after Kim Hye-sung during the season. The “FA jackpot” that all players dream of is only two years away. “I wanted to do my best if I become the captain,” he said when he was appointed. “There are so many young players in my team. There are many chances and I have to deal with them, and I feel a sense of responsibility in many ways,” he said, expressing his commitment to become a good leader.
The foremost goal is to come out of the game. The Korean team is only 1.5 games behind the ninth-ranked Hanwha Eagles, and the fifth-ranked team is within the range of five games. Coincidentally, the first series of the second half of the season is also a series of three consecutive home games against the Hanwha Eagles. “Summer fitness is important, but young players are not that different from the mid-ranked team. I will work hard until the end without getting hurt and go to the fall baseball,” he said.