KT Wiz Oh Jae-il started as the fifth batter and first baseman in Game 9 of the season against the Samsung Lions of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 26th.
Until two months ago, Oh Jae-il was a Samsung player using Rafak as his home ground. He left the Doosan Bears and became a member of Samsung on the condition that he received a total of 5 billion won for four years after the end of the 2020 season.고수익알바
Oh Jae-il played a batting average of 0.285 119 hits, 25 homers, 97 RBIs, 64 runs and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.878 in 120 games in the 2021 season, adding to Samsung’s first advance to autumn baseball in six years. In the 2022 season, he was not bad with a batting average of 0.268 in 135 games, 21 homers, 94 RBIs, 57 runs and an OPS of 0.836. In the second half of the 2022 season, he also served as Samsung’s captain in place of Kim Heon-gon.
In the 2023 season, he handed over his captaincy to Koo Ja-wook in the middle of the season amid severe slur, and had to finish the season with a disappointing performance of 0.203 64 hits, 11 homers, 54 RBIs and 31 runs in 106 games.
In this season, he had a batting average of 0.234 with 15 hits, three homers, nine RBIs and six runs in 22 games before moving to KT. With the introduction of the shift restriction system, expectations were high than ever, but he spent longer in the second division than in the first division.
Oh Jae-il, however, is a player who has brought more happy memories to Samsung fans. In particular, he hit a chase home run in the ninth inning as a pinch hitter in the last game he played in Samsung’s uniform against the Kiwoom Heroes in Daegu on May 28. No one knew if this home run would be his last for Samsung, so fans were even more heartbroken to say goodbye to him.
When he joined KT, he played as a starting and backup player. His performance was disappointing. He played in 40 games with a batting average of 0.216 and 24 hits, four homers, 14 RBIs and 12 runs. His performance in the second half of the year was even worse. He only played eight games with a batting average of 0.182, four hits, one homer, three RBIs and two runs. He has had no hit since the game against the Lotte Giants in Busan on July 13. He has not started since the game against the Gocheok Kiwoom Heroes on July 18. He played as a substitute against the Suwon NC Dinos on July 21 and the Suwon SSG Landers on July 24, but failed to display much performance. Nevertheless, he had an opportunity to greet his fans at home.
Oh took the batter’s box in the second inning with no outs and runners on first base. When Kang Min-ho, who he teamed up with, asked him to say hello to Samsung’s home fans at third base, Oh took off his helmet and greeted them in the 90s. The 21,891 fans who visited Lapak also applauded and cheered Oh. Oh then gave a cool hit against starter Baek Jeong-hyun. He grounded out in the third inning and struck out in the fifth and seventh innings.