Kiwoom Heroes head coach Hong Won-ki expressed his frustration with the team’s recent batting slump. However, he said that the cause of the offensive slump cannot be attributed to Lee Jung-hoo alone, but to the overall decline in batting form.
“We haven’t scored in two consecutive games because we haven’t been lucky with our batting, but our on-base percentage and batting average in scoring position are all dropping,” Hong said before their fourth game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Lotte Giants at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Sunday.
Kiwoom fell to a 0-2 loss to Lotte the day before, snapping a three-game losing streak. The pitchers’ struggles have also been felt as the bats have been held scoreless for two straight games following a 0-3 loss to the KT Wiz on April 25. The team has also slipped out of the race for the top spot, falling to eighth place, 4.5 games behind fourth-place NC and Doosan.
The biggest problem is the bats. Kiwoom’s offensive struggles seem to have continued throughout the month. The team is batting .235 in May, ninth out of 10 clubs, a far cry from the league average of .256 in that span. In the four games this week, the bats are hitting just .197.
Even Lee Jung-hoo, who seemed to be finding his groove after an early season slump, has slumped to 2-for-13 in his last four games. Even foreign-born Russell has been silent with one hit in eight at-bats, continuing a frustrating trend of neither accumulating runners nor capitalizing on chances.메이저놀이터
Kiwoom’s lineup against Lotte was Kim Jun-wan (left fielder), Kim Hwijip (designated hitter), Lee Jung-hoo (center fielder), Kim Hye-sung (second baseman), Russell (shortstop), Kim Tae-jin (third baseman), Lee Won-seok (first baseman), Lee Ji-young (catcher), and Lee Hyung-jong (right fielder).
“I moved Kim Hwi-jip to the No. 2 spot because he’s been hitting well in the bottom of the order lately,” Hong said.
“I think Lee Jung-hoo has slowed down a bit, but our team is in a general downward trend in the batting lineup, and it would be cruel to put all the blame on Lee Jung-hoo alone,” he said, emphasizing, “The team as a whole is not hitting well, and I don’t think it’s just Lee Jung-hoo’s problem.”