Doosan Bears’ new foreign hitter started in earnest.
Over the past four years, Doosan has been less worried about outsiders than others.
Jose Miguel Fernandez (35), who made his debut in 2019, became the most hit king with 197 hits in his first year, and 199 hits the following year. It was said that it was somewhat sluggish in 2021 and 2022, but Fernandez was a’hit maker’ with a guaranteed batting average of 30%.
Fernandez hit a total of 723 hits while working with Doosan for four seasons. This is the second record for the most hits by an outside hitter after Jay Davis (979 hits), who played for the Hanwha Eagles.
Consistent hit production was guaranteed, but there was a noticeable decline as he got older. In the end, I went into the selection of new foreign players, and I met ‘Jose’ again.
José Rojas was evaluated as a mid-to-long-distance hitter with sophisticated hitting skills comparable to that of Fernandez. A Doosan official expected it to be “similar to or better than Fernandez’s.”
He has been steadily building his body at the spring camp held in Sydney, Australia, and on the 25th he made his first real appearance through the Cheongbaekjeon.
Lohas, who started as the designated hitter number 3 of the blue team, faced Choi Seung-yong in his first at-bat and withdrew with a fly ball to left field. However, Lohas, who again walked against Choi Seung-yong in the 4th inning, ended up with a fly ball against Kim Ji-yong in the 5th inning.
The hit came in the last at-bat. In the 7th inning against Park Jeong-soo, he hit the right fielder. The first hit recorded by Rojas while wearing a Doosan uniform. 안전놀이터
After the game, Rojas said, “I was excited because I felt like I was starting to properly prepare for the season. I had fun throughout the game thanks to the energy of the players from both teams.”
He continued, “I think the timing will be right if I continue to bat while playing Cheongbaekjeon and demonstration games. I will continue to train the team as I am now and prepare well for the season.”
On the other hand, in the Cheongbaekjeon that day, the White team won 7-6. After starting pitcher Choi Seung-yong allowed 4 runs (2 earned) in 3⅔ innings, Kim Ji-yong (1⅓ innings scoreless) – Lee Byung-hun (1 inning scoreless) – Park Jeong-soo (1 innings 1 run) – Lee Won-jae (1 innings 1 run) – Lee Seung-jin (1 innings scoreless) kept the mound. On the other line, Ahn Jae-seok and Jeong Su-bin each hit two doubles, showing good hitting.
For the blue team, Park Shin-ji gave up 1 run in 4 innings, Jang Won-joon (1 inning, 1 run) – Jeon Jeon Geun (1 inning, 3 runs (1 earned) – Kim Ho-jun (1 inning scoreless) – Ko Bong-jae (1 inning, 2 runs) – Lee Byeong-heum ( 1 scoreless inning), the pitchers checked in order.