Kang Min-ho (38), a veteran Samsung Lions catcher, wrote the message “Dak-gong without fear (shut up and attack)” on a whiteboard in the dugout on the 12th. As the stagnation of the team’s batting line continued, it was a phrase written less to motivate him. Park Jin-man, Samsung coach, laughed, saying, “This is an essential part for our team right now. The correct answer.”
The leader of Samsung’s ‘Dakgong Baseball’ is Ja-wook Koo (30).
Koo Ja-wook started as the first hitter and right fielder against the 메이저사이트Lotte Giants at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 14th and recorded 2 hits, 1 walk and 1 run in 4 at-bats, leading the team to a 9-7 victory. Koo Ja-wook, who hit opponent ace Dan Strayley from the first at-bat in the first inning, got on base with a walk at the end of the second inning, leading 4-2. Then, in the 6th inning, which was chased 4-3, a right-handed hit connected a chance, laying the foundation for two consecutive RBIs by Kang Min-ho and Lee Won-seok.
In the match against SSG Landers the previous day (13th), it created an atmosphere in which it ended a six-game losing streak after a lot of hard work. Samsung led 8-3 that day, but lost 1 point in the 7th inning and 4 points in the 8th inning, allowing a turnaround to 8-9. Ja-wook Koo pulled the slider on the 6th pitch of the changed pitcher Hyo-jun Ko and sent it over the fence. The beastly home run of the season was a tying home run that revived the atmosphere of the team that had sunk. Afterwards, Samsung won 11-9 amid Oh Jae-il’s final double and Kim Dong-yeop’s timely wedge hit. After the game, coach Park Jin-man said, “The defense time was too long at the beginning of the 8th inning. However, at the end of the 8th, lead batter Ja-wook Koo hit a home run and brought the atmosphere.”
Early last year, Ja-wook Koo signed a non-FA multi-year contract with Samsung for up to 12 billion won for 5 years (annual salary of 9 billion won, incentives of 3 billion won). However, he played 99 games, and he was sluggish with a batting average of 0.293, 5 home runs, and 38 RBIs with an OPS of 0.741. It is his lowest performance since his professional debut.
Koo Ja-wook trained with his teeth gritting this offseason.
His start at the beginning of the season was refreshing. He has a batting average of 0.395 in 11 games. 3rd place behind NC Dinos Park Min-woo (0.424) and KT Wiz Kang Baek-ho (0.400). It is a streak of 10 consecutive hits since he recorded no hits in 4 at-bats only against the NC Dinos on the 1st. In particular, he is flying fast, hitting multi-hits (more than 2 hits in one game) in the last 6 consecutive games. He takes the leadoff or second hitter and has a high on-base percentage (0.449), but also a good slugging percentage (0.581).