LG Twins’ Austin Dean (31) has become the star of the club’s history. Usually, foreign players fall into slump in the second season, but this is not the case for Austin.
Austin started as the third designated hitter in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League Kiwoom Heroes match at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 24th, and played a great role with four hits (2 home runs) and four RBIs and three runs in five at-bats.
He led his team to a 7-0 victory and scored 30 home runs and 111 RBIs. Austin became the first LG Twins player to hit 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. 스포츠토토
Until Saturday’s game, Austin is ranking first in RBIs, which could be a history. LG is currently booking its first RBI title.
Last year, Austin led the team to its first combined championship in 29 years with a batting average of 0.313, 23 home runs, 95 RBIs and an OPS of 0.893.
In the second season, he relentlessly targets weaknesses, which often leads to poor performance, but this is not the case for Austin at all. Although batting order No. 4 was taken away (?) from him, he is playing an overwhelming role as a troubleshooter in No. 3.
Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop has been giving compliments to Austin throughout this season. “I’ve seen many foreign players lose their initial commitment and only try to enjoy benefits as years go by,” Yeom said. “However, Austin is becoming an exemplary Korean team member.”
Team members should pay attention. Austin is not a Korean-style foreigner. He values Team First and has the trust of both the coaching staff and the team.
He also has no doubt about his performance. “Basically, he is a batter with a class. He knows how to hit a breaking ball. He turns a falling curve into a home run. When you strike out, you don’t get many breaking balls. He has a similar style to Yang Eui-ji,” Yeom praised.
LG, which has never had a relationship with a foreign hitter, is smiling brightly last year and this year because of Austin.
The new history that Austin will challenge in the future is the RBI king, 2018 Chae Eun-sung (current Hanwha Eagles) and 2020 Kim Hyun-soo’s record of 119 RBIs in a single season. Attention is focusing on the new record that Austin will write.
