The Samsung Lions of professional baseball have regained the image of a “home run corps.”
Until now, Samsung had not enjoyed the advantage as it used Daegu Samsung Lions Park, a batter-friendly stadium, as its home ground. Samsung had to make others do good things while suffering from a deficit in home run margins. Last year, there was no batter with 20 home runs in the team. It was the first time in 15 years that Samsung failed to produce a batter with 20 home runs since 2008. Kang Min-ho (catcher) and Jose Pirella (outfielder) tied for first in this category with 16 home runs. 밤알바
Samsung and the Kia Tigers are tied for the top in this category with 111 team home runs as of Tuesday. “It is more helpful for our team to have multiple players hit home runs consistently than for a specific player to hit 30 to 40 home runs,” manager Park Jin-man said.
Captain Koo Ja-wook (outfielder) is leading the team with 20 home runs for the first time in three years. Kim Young-woong (outfielder) will follow with 18 home runs and Lee Sung-kyu (outfielder) will follow with 17 home runs. Kang had only five home runs in 82 games in the first half, but exploded with six home runs in 10 games in the second half, achieving double-digit home runs for the 15th consecutive year.
Infielders Park Byung-ho and Lee Jae-hyun are side by side with nine homers, with only one left to achieve a double-digit home run. Outfielder Kim Hun-gon has eight homers, making double-digit homers in sight for the first time in six years since his 11th home run in 2018.
Without Kim Young-woong and Lee Sung-kyu, Kim would not have been able to lead the team in homers. In his third year, Kim had only three homers in the first division until last year, but he is displaying his capabilities to the fullest this year.
“I’m 21 years old now, and it’s amazing that I’m as good as I am,” said Chae Tae-in, who served as a central hitter during the Samsung Dynasty. “I was not as good as I was when I was young. Experience is the most important thing, but if you gain experience, you will become a formidable hitter.”
“I hit 18 home runs now, but I am better at it than myself (who hit 17 home runs in 2009). He is really good at swinging.”
Lee Sung-kyu, a former home run king of Futures, hit 10 home runs in 2020 for the most in a single season, but at the current pace, it is only a matter of time before he achieves 20 home runs. Lee Sung-kyu said, “Coach Lee Jin-young emphasizes, ‘You are strong, so you can hit the ball at the center of the bat.’ Coach Bae Young-seop helps me a lot in psychological terms.”
Coach Park Jin-man welcomed their growth, saying, “I didn’t think Kim Young-woong and Lee Sung-kyu would be this good. Twenty home runs are enough and they have become the mainstay of our team’s offense.”
Reuben Cardenas (outfielder) is also a talent who will greatly contribute to Samsung’s home run production. He made his first appearance in the game against Lotte in Daegu on last 19th, and drew the arch twice in three consecutive games. The flying distance amounts to 130 meters on average. He is capable of hitting out of the fence at any baseball stadium in Korea as well as Daegu Samsung Lions Park.
