South Korean professional baseball’s leading left-handed pitcher Yang Hyun-jong (KIA) earned his third win of the season and 162nd of his career on March 27 against LG. With that win, he moved into sole possession of second place on the Korean League’s all-time wins list.
However, Yang has since had a nightmare June. In his start against Lotte on June 2, he gave up nine runs on nine hits (one home run) and two walks in two innings. It was his most runs allowed in a single game since his professional debut in 2007. Hoping to redeem himself, Yang took the mound again on July 7 against SSG after a four-day break. This time, however, he gave up seven runs on 11 hits and two walks in four and a third innings. His season ERA, which was 2.29 through May, ballooned to 4.55.
Kim Hyun-soo (LG), once dubbed a “hitting machine,” is also experiencing the worst slump of his career. After cruising through April with a .400 batting average, Kim suddenly lost his batting form and batted just .148 in the month of May. In his four games in June, he is batting less than .063 (1-for-16). As of July 7, he is batting just .254 (45-for-177) with one home run.
Kim Hyun-soo has been out of the starting lineup since the 6th against Kiwoom. LG manager Yoon Kyung-yeop said, “I don’t think he will play until the three-game series against Hanwha on the weekend (Sept. 9-11). I won’t even use him as a substitute.” The plan is to keep them in the first team and give them time to find their feet.
However, many believe that their 메이저사이트 absence will not last long. They have been at the top of the league for over 15 years. As the baseball adage goes, “what goes around comes around,” and they will find a way out of their slumps.
Such is the case with Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung). After a string of blown saves that belied his status as Korea’s best closer, he was sent down to the second team in early May to work on his pitching form and mindset. Since returning to the first team, he has shown stability with a record of 1 win and 4 saves, starting with a save against the NC on the 19th of last month. On the 6th of this month, he reached the 500-save milestone in Korean-American baseball.
Last year’s batting title winner Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom) is also finding his form after a sluggish start to the season. His batting average dropped to 0.194 at the end of April, but as of the 7th, he has raised his batting average to 0.290 (62 hits in 214 at-bats).
