When LG Baseball manager Yoon Kyung-yeop was preparing for this season, he drew a picture. In games where the team was not in control of the game, he wanted one home run from the seventh or eighth spot in the batting order to change the atmosphere.
Half the time, it worked. Park Dong-won, who was slated to bat seventh, fulfilled the expected number of home runs, leading the division with 13 by May, but Lee Jae-won, who was slated to bat eighth, was unable to show his full potential due to a series of injuries before and after the opening day.
In fall baseball, home runs are powerful. More often than not, home runs make the difference. In this year’s fall baseball, NC started with Seo Ho-cheol’s grand slam in the wild-card game against Doosan, and in the semifinals against SSG, Kim Sung-wook’s two-run home run in the first inning set the tone. In the playoffs, KT turned the tide in Game 3 thanks to a two-run homer by Bae Jae-dae.
LG may also be in need of a home run in the Korean Series. The best-case scenario would be to control the entire series without a decisive hit. If the series doesn’t go that smoothly, we could see some impressive home runs from the main lineup, including Austin Dean and Park Dong-won, who have been the workhorses.
However, if the series becomes tighter than that, we may see a shift to the ‘big hitter’.
LG has been preparing for the Korean Series for a month or so now, and they’ve gotten their hands on the next best thing: a pinch-hitting card. Kim Bum-seok, a right-handed, mid-to-long-range hitter who was calculated to be a first-team player after next year, quickly rose to the surface.
Kim, who joined the team as a catcher and is now going all-in on hitting after taking a break from the mound due to a shoulder injury, hit his first home run on October 9 against Lotte in Jamsil and then hit two impressive home runs against Cheongbaek in the past week.
On Oct. 29, he took a slider from right-hander Lee Jung-yong for a solo home run to straightaway left-center, and on Oct. 4 against the Cheongbaeiks, he lifted a fastball from left-hander Son Ju-young for a solo home run to left-center. 보스토토 도메인
Kim Bum-seok’s entry into the Korean Series roster could have been wasted. Yoon explained that his inclusion in the roster was meant to be a reserve for next season.
However, Kim Bum-seok has become a “real force” in the Korean Series. He has hit spectacular home runs off left-handed pitchers, including Lotte’s Shim Jae-min and teammate Son Ju-young. When LG’s left-handed batting lineup needs a breakthrough, he will have a chance to step up to the plate as a left-handed hitter. Considering his ability to wow even the most casual observer, there’s a good chance that one of the highlights of the Korean Series will come off the bat of Kim Bum-seok.
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