The starting pitcher must step out now.”
KT Wiz coach Lee Kang-cheol talked about infielder Kang Baek-ho ahead of the NC Dinos game in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ to be held at Changwon NC Park on the 13th.안전놀이터
Kang Baek-ho has played in 63 games this year and is recording a batting average of 0.261 (54 hits in 207 at-bats), 7 home runs, 36 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.760. Due to various injuries, he was out of the first team for a while, but was called up to the first team on the 5th and is playing. After his return, his performance was 0.250 (1-for-4) with 1 home run and 4 RBIs in 6 games.
The recent KT lineup is solid. While Byung-ho Park was the designated hitter due to a calf injury, Yoon-seok Oh took over as first baseman. Since Kang Baek-ho did not pass the defense, he cannot play as a designated hitter. Recently, there are many games where players wait on the bench.
Regarding Kang Baek-ho’s starting appearance, Manager Lee said, “Right now, the starting pitcher must play. If we want to go stably, the starting pitcher should play. If it doesn’t work out then, we have to use a pinch hitter. Even if we try to remove (Oh) Yoon Seok, he can’t get to first base when he is ahead. “I couldn’t change it because my defense was the best. If we’re losing, it’s right to go aggressive. But right now, I don’t want to take risks by breaking that,” he explained.
KT is ranked 2nd in the league with a season record of 66 wins, 3 draws, and 53 losses, and a winning percentage of 0.555. 3rd place NC Dinos (64 wins, 2 draws, 52 losses/win rate 0.552) is 0.5 games behind, 4th place KIA Tigers (60 wins, 2 draws, 53 losses/win rate 0.531), 5th place SSG Landers (62 wins, 2 draws, 55 losses) / win rate 0.530) is ‘3’ behind. It is important to keep your position and not lose it to them.
Coach Lee said, “Right now, if the starting pitcher doesn’t work out, we have to use pinch hitters aggressively. We’re ahead, but we can’t leave out the (stable) defense. That’s why I have a lot of concerns. I have to think of (Kang) Baekho and send him out, but he’s in a position to be put in.” “There is no,” he said.
He added, “(The Baekho’s defense) was only able to play defense when they were being dragged down… Even in the Futures League, they only played defense in one game (playing in right field against Iksan Sangmu on September 3). It will be a burden on the players as well.”
Meanwhile, KT has Kim Min-hyuk (right fielder) – Anthony Alford (left fielder) – Hwang Jae-gyun (third baseman) – Park Byeong-ho (designated hitter) – Bae Jeong-dae (center fielder) – Jang Seong-woo (catcher) – Oh Yoon-seok (first baseman) – Shin Bon-ki (second baseman) -The lineup consisted of Kim Sang-soo (shortstop) and starting pitcher Ko Young-pyo (10 wins, 7 losses, 150⅔ innings, ERA 2.99).