David McKinnon, a 30-year-old foreign hitter of the Samsung Lions who participated in the All-Star game and received the Outstanding Batter Award, was shocked. Despite the pain, McKinnon still left a farewell message to his fans and did not forget to say goodbye.
The Samsung Lions has released McKinnon in a surprise move. The team requested the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to announce waivers against McKinnon on Wednesday.
McKinnon said on his personal SNS (social network service) on the 9th, “I would like to thank my colleagues and Samsung Lions fans for giving me unforgettable memories during my short stay in Korea. Of course, it didn’t go as I wanted, but now I will support my colleagues even from afar.”
McKinnon then said, “I made lifelong friends while playing for the Lions. Korea, and Korean baseball, is incredible. I will miss you.” 토토사이트
McKinnon was a new foreign hitter who was hired this season after giving up Jose Pirella (35), who had been dubbed the “foreign hitter of fighting spirit” by Samsung. However, McKinnon failed to meet the expectations of Samsung and its fans.
McKinnon was hired by Samsung in December last year for a fee of 1 million dollars early on. As a mid- to long-range hitter, McKinnon played in 357 games in the U.S. Minor League, posting a batting average of 0.294, 36 homers and 210 RBIs. In the 2023 season, he played 127 games for the Seibu Lions of the Japanese professional baseball league, posting a batting average of 0.259, 15 homers and 50 RBIs.
“He is a mid- to long-range hitter with good pitching and excellent contact skills,” the Samsung team said at the time of the recruitment announcement. “He has the advantage of being able to secure stable first-base defense and third-base defense. Based on his sincere training attitude and experience in Japanese baseball, he is expected to quickly adapt to the KBO league. Securing diversity in infield management is expected to further strengthen the central batting line,” the team said.
McKinnon showed good performance in the early days of the season. He had a batting average of 0.369 (38 hits in 103 at-bats) of three doubles, three homers, 15 RBIs, 13 runs, one stolen base, and 18 walks in 27 games during March and April. However, he faltered afterwards. He continued to decline. Sometimes he was on the injured list, failing to properly maintain his position in the top team.
Still, McKinnon won the Outstanding Batter Award by scoring two hits and two RBIs from three times at bat, including one homer, at the All-Star Game held on the 6th. However, the All-Star Game became the last game played in Korea.
McKinnon will leave Samsung with a batting average of 0.294 (80 hits in 272 times at bat) with four homers, 36 RBIs, 28 runs, one stolen base and 39 walks, and a batting average of 0.386 on-base plus 0.381 OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.767 in 72 games this season.
Meanwhile, Samsung said it will recruit Uta as a substitute for McKinnon, adding that administrative procedures have not been fully implemented due to time differences. An official announcement will be made on Tuesday.
