Rival NC’s Son Ah-seop also seeking first batting title
Koo Ja-rook, eliminated from fall baseball, has an advantage in batting average management
Jang Hyo-jo, Lee Man-soo, Yang Jun-hyuk, Choi Hyung-woo, the next batting champion?
As the Korean Baseball Organization’s 2023 regular season comes to a close, the race for the best hitter of the season is still hot. Samsung Lions hack Goo Ja-rook and NC Dinos veteran Son Ah-seop are in the hunt for the batting title.
The mound is already taken by Son’s teammate Eric Pedi. In addition to leading the league in wins with 20, he also leads the league in ERA (2.06) and strikeouts (204). While Peddy is the top pitcher this season, the top batting title is still up for grabs.
As of the morning of the 12th, the batting leader is Son Ah-seop. He’s batting .341 with 183 hits in 537 at-bats. Koo is trailing Son by just one run. He’s batting .340 with 152 hits in 447 at-bats. He hasn’t gotten as many at-bats as Son due to missing games due to injury.
Koo and Son are two of the best hitters in the KBO. The Daegu High School product is Samsung’s franchise star and a fan favorite. He won his first Golden Glove last season. Son, who came to NC from Lotte, became the first player in the league to hit 150 hits in eight consecutive years this year.
However, the two have yet to win a batting title. Koo cleared the three-figure mark with a .349 batting average in 2015 and .343 in 2016, but finished third and sixth, respectively. His only individual title came in 2021 when he led the league in runs scored. Son As-seop topped the hits list three times, in 2012, 2013, and 2017, but was unable to win the batting title.
Son is ahead by a foot, but it’s possible that Koo could overtake him. Samsung has only two games left, while NC has four games left, not including the 12th. While NC is in contention for third place, Samsung’s chances of making it to fall baseball have been eliminated early. This means that while key hitter Son As-seop can’t rest, Koo Ja-rook has a more manageable batting average.
Koo overcame an early slump to rank second in the batting order. In May, he hit just .241, and in June, he injured the posterior muscle of his right thigh while fielding and played just three games. His season average was .295. After rehabbing, he returned to the field and has risen sharply.메이저사이트
Samsung used to be one of the league’s best hitting teams, although their colors have faded with their recent slump. If Koo wins the batting title, he will become the fifth batting champion after Jang Hyo-jo, Lee Man-soo, Yang Jun-hyuk, and Choi Hyung-woo. And the team’s 10th overall. It will be interesting to see if he realizes his goal.
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