The strength of the batting lineup, which is down one level in the 'last year of FA contract'... LG can live only when the '17.5 billion' veteran duo lives
The strength of the batting lineup, which is down one level in the 'last year of FA contract'... LG can live only when the '17.5 billion' veteran duo lives
Blog Article
Will LG Twins FA veteran duo Kim Hyun-soo (37) and Park Hae-min (35) be able to recover their adrenal glands and renew their contracts last year.메이저놀이터
LG's biggest weakness last year, which won the title of the unified champion in the 2023 season, was the bullpen. With major bullpen resources such as closing pitcher Ko Woo-suk's advance to the U.S., Ham Deok-ju's injury, and Lee Jung-yong's enlistment, the bullpen team's ERA, which was ranked first in the league, rose to 5.17 (6th in the league) in the 2023 season.
LG recruited Jang Hyun-sik (a four-year total of 5.2 billion won) and Kim Kang-ryul (a three-plus one-year total of 1.4 billion won (1.5 million U.S. dollars) in order to elevate the mound again. It named Choi Chae-heung, a left-hander, as compensation player for Choi Won-tae, and even Shim Chang-min, a side arm that was released from the NC Dinos, successfully secured a back door. Yoo Young-chan and Ham Deok-ju, who both went to the operating table late last year, earned a minimum amount of time until they returned healthy.
The batting average was slightly better for the batters. The team ranked third in batting average (0.283), second in RBIs (765 RBIs), second in runs scored (808) and fourth in OPS (0.780). Austin Dean, the center hitter, won the RBI king and first baseman golden glove in the league. Moon Bo-kyung, the main third baseman, hit 30-20 home runs and 100 RBIs, while Hong Chang-ki, the leadoff hitter, also showed off his strength.
The only regrettable point was sluggish performance with Kim and Park. Ahead of the 2022 season, LG renewed a four-plus-two-year maximum of 11.5 billion won (10.5 million U.S. dollars) contract with Kim and signed a four-year, six-billion won (6 million dollars) free agent contract with Park.
In the first year of his renewal, he hit .286 with 23 homers and 106 RBIs in 141 games, proving his robustness. However, he failed to achieve double-digit homers (six homers) for the first time since returning to Korea in the 2023 season, and failed to achieve a rebound with a batting average of 0.294 with eight homers and 69 RBIs last year.
Park Hae-min, who had consistently recorded a batting average of 0.289-0.285 in the late 20% range for two years after signing the contract, also suffered ups and downs as his batting average fell to 0.263 last year. In particular, the batting average in the scoring area was only 0.233, weak in chances, and the number of strikeouts in the season reached 101. Under the trust of head coach Yeom Kyung-yeop, he played 144 games for three consecutive years after signing the FA contract and still showed good performance in defense, but all of them were faded due to poor batting.
The two failed to play their roles in the playoffs against the Samsung Lions. Kim Hyun-soo had a batting average of 0.154 (two hits in 13 at-bats) and one homer and four RBIs in four playoff games, while Park Hae-min had a batting average of 0.182 (two hits in 11 at-bats) and two RBIs in four playoff games, leaving regret in important games. Considering that LG ranked atop in all of the batting indicators mentioned above such as team batting average, RBIs, runs scored and OPS in the 2032 season, the two veterans' poor batting performance was even more painful.
This season is also the last year of Yeom Kyung-yeop's contract. Park Hae-min has taken the heavy responsibility of being the captain of this year's team, and Kim Hyun-soo is also expected to play a leading role in the dugout. However, what is desperately needed for LG, which is seeking to regain its throne this year, is that the two veterans who are on the verge of renewing their contracts should play their roles at bat.