The vacancy of Nastar is so big.
The KIA line has not been able to operate 100% of its power in a single game since the demonstration game. This is because Na Seong-beom has not been able to compete at all after going to the WBC. He likely won’t be back until May with a calf injury. On top of this, Kim Do-young injured his foot in the Incheon SSG match on the 2nd and was virtually ruled out for the first half.
Captain Kim Seon-bin also suffered from an ankle injury after the opening game and could not play properly. In addition, Lee Chang-jin, who had the best feeling of hitting after the opening, skipped the match against Hanwha in Gwangju on the 12th and 13th due to forearm pain. Byun Woo-hyuk also had a bad instep recently.
In the end, the KIA lineup brought out Plan B-C from the opening game스포츠토토. Choi Hyung-woo defended left field, and Kim Ho-ryeong center field – Socrates Brito started the right field system. Lee Woo-sung and Ryu Ji-hyeok, who were classified as backups, are the latest starters.
Overall, the connection of other lines is not smooth. Coach Kim Jong-kook slightly adjusts the batting order in each game, but there is no reversal. He scored only 24 hits and 7 points in 3 home matches against Hanwha during the week. Actually, eight hits per game isn’t that bad. In the end, 2 points per game was a problem. After getting on base with difficulty, the flow of not being able to step on the house and going to defense is repeated.
In particular, the KIA lineup failed to score 14 consecutive innings until they scored 2 runs in the 2nd inning of the 12th game and 1 run in the 9th inning of the 13th game. In fact, the 1 point in the 9th inning of the game on the 13th was also riding on the opponent’s error. He went 15 consecutive innings without scoring either on timely hits or on base hits and sacrifice hits. In the end, due to the frustrating flow of the other line, they recorded 1 win and 2 losses against Hanwha and a losing series.
It is not simply a matter of three straight matches against Hanwha. KIA’s team batting average this season is 0.254, which is 6th. It is not a big difference from the league average (0.261). However, the scoring strike percentage is only 0.194, 9th. It’s a whopping six pennies lower than the team’s batting average.
It is true that Na Seong-beom feels a big gap. There are some missing hitters such as Lee Chang-jin, Kim Do-young, and Byun Woo-hyuk, but as Na Seong-beom, who used to hit 3 or 4 times, disappeared, the weight dropped. Na Seong-beom is a typical OPS-type solver whose greatest charm is his steady destructive power. In addition, it was also great that he could not actually use Kim Seon-bin, who did his part no matter which batting order he entered.
KIA boasted the best batting line in the league last year. 1st with a team batting average of 0.272, 1st with a team OPS of 0.747, and 3rd with a team scoring average of 0.273. This season, the quantity and quality of the mound has improved considerably, and the field depth has also improved. However, the batting line is not bursting compared to last year.
On the one hand, considering the batting cycle, the bad trend is bound to come up eventually. Basically, KIA this season has a good mound and overall depth, so it is absolutely not a power that will collapse easily. Of course, the process of identifying the cause and dealing with it must be followed, but it is not something that can be solved by hasty action.
In the end, in the big picture, you have to endure well with a plan B until May. And injury management is of the utmost importance. Beginning with Na Seong-beom in June, Choi Won-joon’s discharge is expected, and Kim Do-young’s return in July and August.