“When we first met, we talked about hitting theory, and we hit it off really well. We had a lot of faith in each other.”
LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said he gained some confidence from his conversations with the hitting coaches after taking the helm at LG. Yeom said that his own experience and the direction he took while learning in the U.S. were almost identical to those of Lee Ho-joon and Mo Chang-min. Therefore, the team’s hitting theory has been clearly established and he expects that the team can be a batting lineup without ups and downs throughout the season.
Before the Gwangju KIA game on the 26th, Yeom said, “My batting theory is 99% the same as Lee Ho-joon and Mo Chang-min. When I first met them, it was great because we talked about hitting theory and it worked really well. I had faith that we could work well together, so I thought we could get the right direction.”
At the core of Coach Yeom’s, Coach Lee’s, and Coach Mo’s hitting theory is contact coverage. This is the so-called “right side” of the swing, and by emphasizing it, many players’ hitting has been upgraded. Park Dong-won hit more home runs as his foul balls decreased. Hong Chang-ki and Moon Sung-joo are maximizing their strengths. Park Hae-min quickly escaped the April jinx.
“The theory is the same, so we can keep pushing the players. The players trust the coaching staff because they see the results.” “If you look at our batting graph right now, there are not too many ups and downs. It’s very even. I think we can keep it that way all year long,” he said.
Through 25 games, LG is ranked first in team batting average (0.292) and first in team on-base percentage (0.380). They are first in on-base percentage (0.405). Not surprisingly, they are also first in team OPS (0.785). The team’s emphasis on contact coverage has led to more in-play hits, which has boosted their batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage.
When asked, “Who are the hitters with the best contact coverage on the team?” Yeom pointed to Hong Chang-ki and Moon Sung-joo, saying, 스포츠토토“They swing at the line, not at the dot. So you can’t shift against them. If you hit it behind them, it goes to the left, if you hit it in front of them, it goes to the center, and if you hit it further ahead, it goes to the right. They’re good hitters, but we’ve asked them to stick to the same routine for at least 400 at-bats, protecting their own, and it’s paying off.”
LG’s lineup against KIA was Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Moon Sung-joo (left fielder), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Austin Dean (first baseman), Kim Hyun-soo (designated hitter), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Park Dong-won (catcher), Kim Min-sung (second baseman), and Park Hae-min (center fielder). The starting pitcher is Plutko.
Meanwhile, pitchers Go Woo-seok and Baek Seung-hyun, who are preparing to return to the first team, are heading to Jamsil Stadium. Both pitched against Seosan Hanwha in the Futures League. Go Woo-seok pitched 8 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and no runs, and topped out at 151km/h. Baek Seung-hyun pitched 13 1/3 innings with two hits, one walk, four strikeouts, one run, and a fastball that reached 148 mph.
Go Woo-seok and Baek Seung-hyun will pitch in a Futures League game on Sept. 29 before being recalled to the first team. They could be called up to the first team as early as next week.