Socrates Brito (32) of the Kia Tigers is one of the players tested the most by Lee Bum-ho’s patience in the early days of the season. Lee believed that Socrates would be able to display more slugging capability than last year. However, time passed without him being able to meet such expectations. There was also strong criticism that the Kia Tigers should kick him out now.
Foreign hitters in the KBO League this year were “a bumper crop,” and Socrates’ poor performance was inevitably shabby compared to this. I knew it was a slow-starter, but there was a point in the logic that it was a problem for a player in his third year in the KBO League to repeat such a path. However, contrary to the old memory of surviving in May, when scoring productivity remained at the league’s average level until May, the withdrawal theory intensified.
In fact, Socrates recorded an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.721 in six games in March, and only 0.777 in 25 games in April and 0.786 in 25 games in May. As foreign hitters are performing worse than the team average, it was natural for fans to feel more frustrated. Public opinion has cooled down as Socrates, who seemed to hate him due to his poor offensive performance, suffered several major accidents in defense. However, coach Lee Bum-ho did not bend his conviction, and Socrates fortunately rebounded not later than usual.
KIA has been going through a difficult time since May due to string injuries of starting pitchers, and it was not easy to share the aftermath of Na Sung-bum’s hamstring injury. At this time, Socrates’ bat began to take the team again. Socrates played a big role with a batting average of 0.329 in 24 games in June, an OPS of 1.017 and an OPS of 1.038 in 22 games in July, providing a driving force for KIA to overcome its mid-season crisis and become No. 1.
Despite slow performance in August, Socrates ended the season with a relatively good performance with a batting average of 0.322 and an OPS of 0.880, in 15 games in September. Now, a lot of criticism against Socrates has been lifted. However, there is still a hurdle before the team can renew contract with its goal. It is the Korean Series. Having advanced directly to the Korean Series as a regular-season winner, Kia is calmly preparing for the series while waiting for its partner. And a person’s memory remains stronger in the end.
If Socrates plays a big role in the Korean Series, he will have to renew his contract. On the contrary, public opinion and evaluation will change again. In addition, Socrates occupies a very important role in KIA’s batting order initiative. He is also one of the most flexible players to be in the batting order depending on his teammates, opposing pitcher, and personal condition.
It was the same during the regular season. Socrates was at 602 at-bats this year. He is quite different in different batting order. He played 177 at-bats in No. 5, 106 at-bats in No. 2, and 105 at-bats in No. 6, and played 89 at-bats in No. 1. He also had 58 at-bats in No. 3, and 46 at-bats in No. 4. He has diverse experiences ranging from No. 1 to No. 6. 토토사이트
KIA manager Lee Bum-ho has the grand principle of adjusting batting order based on opponent team, pitcher type and conditions of batters. However, Kia is not expected to touch the big stem that penetrated the regular season this year from the beginning. As the team ranks first in offense during the regular season, such strategy has its own persuasive power. However, the post season, which is a short-term game, has many variables. There are situations in which players need to adjust batting order immediately after watching a game. Therefore, Socrates’ condition that he has used in many batting order is important.
If Socrates is in good condition, which ends with four games at the shortest or seven games at the longest, Kia will have more options. You can expect a part of the troubleshooter in No. 5, a strong second batter in No. 2, or if you are in good condition, you can put him in No. 1 and give him as many as possible at bat. However, if Socrates is sluggish, Kia will suffer greatly as there are not many batters as it can make it to No. 5. With his team’s victory and individual renewal, much attention is being paid to Socrates at the end of his third year.
