KIA 29-year-old ‘Multi-Man’ Ryu Ji-hyeok showed off his presence with the final stroke.
Ryu Ji-hyeok feels a bit behind in the third baseman competition this year. It is because Kim Do-young, who is in his second year, is very energetic. Kim Do-young shows off his presence with a batting average of 0.316, 2 homers, 8 RBIs, 7 points, 4 walks and 3 steals in 10 demonstration games. He feels like he steamed the starting leadoff and third baseman.
It is true that Ryu Ji-hyeok is not given a certain opportunity because of Kim Do-young’s momentum. Moreover, there is Kim Kyu-seong, who was evaluated as opening his eyes to batting in the Australian professional baseball Geelong Korea. Kim Kyu-seong has a decent pace with a batting average of 0.333, 1 home run, 3 RBIs, 5 runs, and 3 walks in this demonstration game.
For Ryu Ji-hyeok, Kim Kyu-seong could be bothered. This is because he can cover all positions in the infield like himself. Last year, in 127 games, he had a batting average of 0.274, 2 homers, 48 RBIs, 55 points, and an OPS of 0.715.
The multi-man in crisis has been working hard for the first time in a long time. On the 26th, at the end of the 8th inning, when the score was tied 2-2 against the NC game in Gwangju, Hong Jong-pyo stepped into the plate with a chance to safely run 1st and 2nd base, and scored a one-run final right-handed hit. It was the timing to launch a sacrifice bunt, but coach Kim Jong-guk pushed ahead with a strong attack. Ryu Ji-hyeok pulled out the final stroke after a full count of 9 pitches. 메이저놀이터
Ryu Ji-hyeok has a good balance between offense and defense. He’s not very fast on his feet, but he’s also a vital player for the team. Even this season, existing infield players such as Kim Do-young and Park Chan-ho are the first priority in case of sluggish performance or injury. He has more first-team experience than Kim Gyu-seong.
There are signs that the KIA infield will be enriched this season. Kim Kyu-seong also needs to be nervous about Ryu Ji-hyeok’s presence. In addition, Hong Jong-pyo, a 23-year-old right-handed and left-handed infielder, is constantly getting opportunities. With Byun Woo-hyuk’s addition, not only the power of the corner infield has been reinforced, but both the center and the corner infield have increased depth, indicating that the balance between offense and defense will improve.