Doosan Bears infielder Kang Seung-ho achieved a career high record with his 11th home run of the season. In particular, it was a more brilliant record because of the upset three-run arch that brought the team lead. Kang Seung-ho, who has recently been in a severe batting slump, is also rebounding as he enjoys a delicious rest.메이저놀이터
Kang Seung-ho started as the second baseman of the sixth batter against the NC Dinos in Jamsil on June 19 and contributed to his team’s 6-2 victory with two hits in four at-bats, one home run, three RBIs and one run scored.
On the day, Kang entered the batter’s box for the first time in the bottom of the second inning when his team was losing 0 to 1 with no outs and runners on the first and second bases. Kang hit a fastball with a ball count of 2B and Lim Sang-hyun, the starting pitcher of the opponent team, through 145 km/h for the third pitch, and hit a three-run homer with a flying distance of 120 meters over the left wall. He hit his 11th homer in this season, which was his 10th homer in the previous season.
Doosan, which turned the game around 3-1 through Kang Seung-ho’s upset three-run arch, ran to 6-1 in the bottom of the third inning with timely hits by Yang Seok-hwan and Park Joon-young. Doosan gave up a run in the top of the seventh inning, but maintained its lead without additional runs.
Kang even completed a multi-hit game with a lead-off double in the bottom of the seventh inning. Kang has displayed the best batting performance by displaying multi-hit games in four of the five recent games he played.
“I’m glad to see Kang Seung-ho’s homer. He had a good batting performance since last weekend, when he hit a decisive homer in the second inning. In the third inning, Park Joon-young performed well in the opponent team’s full count,” Lee said, praising his team’s batting performance.
Kang Seung-ho, who achieved his career high with his 11th arch in this season, also told reporters after the game, “Today’s batting sense and his aim worked well together. Of course, I feel good about the result of the homer, but I was not conscious of the record at all. In a home run situation, I thought that it was a fastball without thinking about breaking balls, and turned it around confidently. People say that I have good home run pace, but I don’t care because I’m not a home run hitter. I try harder to hit long- and medium-distance shots such as double or triple more often.”
As Kang has been mired in a long batting slump since late May, he has spent more time sitting on the bench. However, he has managed to rebound from his batting performance by swinging a hard 0.529 (9 hits in 17 at-bats) in his last five games.
“Watching the game from the bench, I was definitely influenced by the fact that I saved my physical stamina and focused on training. It was a time for me to study more about how to set the timing of my teammates and batters, as well as my goals. I trained hard with Coach Lee Young-soo to find the batting form and timing that fit my current physical condition. As younger players with good skills such as (Lee) Yoo-chan and (Jeon) Min-jae are playing well, I try harder not to lose my position. I feel like that part is producing good synergy effect,” he nodded.
One of the most important tasks for Kang is emptying his mind. Rather, the more complicated he thinks about it, the more difficult it is to play at bat.
“When I had a long hitless period in early June, I didn’t know what I was thinking about when I played baseball. It seems that the situation backfired as I got into more complicated thoughts. Song struck out again today. In fact, I thought to myself that since I hit a home run on my fastball in the first at-bat, I should aim for a breaking ball, but both the first and second pitches came into my fastballs. I felt again that I shouldn’t use my brain (laughs). I tend to get struck out a lot, but I think it’s more beneficial to maintain my style. I just have to watch the ball and hit the ball,” he said with a smile.