Raul Alcantara (Doosan Bears) and Edison Russell (Kiwoom Heroes) both returned to the KBO league after 3 years.
However, the meaning of return is quite different. If Alcantara returned to continue the good memories in the KBO, I think we should say that Russell returned to wash away the painful memories in the KBO.
may be interpreted differently. After leaving the KBO league, Alcantara spent two sluggish years in Japan, while Russell spent two years washing away the sluggishness of the KBO, although not in the major leagues.
He left in reverse and came back in reverse. For them, the 2023 KBO League is of interest in that it can be another turning point.
Doosan recruited pitcher Alcantara on December 8 last year for a total of $900,000 (annual salary of $800,000 and incentives of $100,000). And four days later, on the 12th, Kiwoom picked Russell as a substitute for Yasiel Puig for a total of $700,000.
Although the reasons for their departure are different, Alcantara and Russell are foreigners who left the KBO league after the 2020 season.
Alcantara won 11 wins (11 losses) wearing a kt Wiz uniform in 2019, when it debuted in the KBO league, but was released when a new foreigner, Audrey Samer Despine, was recruited.
He was put in a position to leave the KBO, but this was called by Doosan coach Taehyung Kim at the time. At Doosan, he struggled for life by posting 20 wins, a dream record for a pitcher. 20 wins, 2 losses, 2.54 ERA in 31 matches. He won the most wins, winning percentage, and pitcher Golden Glove, becoming the best pitcher in name and reality. Then, he left with the Nippon Professional Baseball Hanshin Tigers after receiving 2 years and 4 million dollars.
However, Alcantara did not achieve the ‘Japan Dream’. 2 seasons, 63 matches, 4 wins, 6 losses, 1 save, 25 holds, 3.96 ERA. Doosan again ‘called’ for Alcantara, which had no place to go in Japan. This is because the 20-win nostalgia of the 2020 season is still there. A Doosan official explained that after examining Alcantara’s pitching and detailed data, it was confirmed that he had the highest level of pitch and command in the KBO League.
As much as this alcantara line, it is swollen with confidence. Alcantara, who joined the Australian spring camp, is burning with fighting spirit, saying, “Doosan is a team that gave me a chance to stand on the mound again. I really want to become a winning member in the third year of the KBO League.”
Unlike this, Russell knocked on the KBO league door with a brilliant history of 5 years of full-time major league, recording a batting average of 0.237 with 9 homers and 23 RBIs in 82 games for the Chicago Cubs in Major League Baseball in 2019, but left only painful memories.
After signing a contract for $530,000 on June 20 as a substitute for Taylor Motors in the 2020 season, he made his KBO League debut as a shortstop with a third hit against Doosan in Jamsil on July 28, a month later. Here, he contributed to Kiwoom’s victory by going 4-for-2 with 2 RBI and 1 run, but after that he fell short of expectations. 65 games, 244 at-bats, 62 hits, 2 home runs, 22 runs scored, 31 RBIs, batting average of 0.254. After failing to renew his contract, he left the KBO League. 토토사이트
Russell later joined Acereros de Monclova in the Mexican League and played in 66 games in the 2021 season with a batting average of 0.319, 8 homers, and an OPS of 0.900. Gae, recorded an OPS of 1.120 and played the role of a central hitter. After all, his performance in the KBO league was the worst in the major leagues and below.
Kiwoom emphasizes that Russell is completely different from when he entered 2020 as a substitute. In other words, at the time, Corona 19 did not train properly when it first started, and it came in suddenly during the season, but this year, it is expected that it can show a different appearance if it melts into the team after training step by step from spring camp.
Russell also said, “I will learn from the regrets of 2020 and prepare steadily from spring camp in 2023. In the
Korean series against SSG Landers last year, Kiwoom made a decisive hole in the shortstop defense and was frustrated at the threshold of the championship, so Russell must come out with Kim Hye-seong to become the core of the defense. In particular, there is a subtle anticipation that we can surpass Puig’s record last year (batting average of 0.277, 73 RBIs, 21 home runs)
Raul Alcantara, who reigned as the best pitcher in the KBO, and Edison Russell, who left in disgrace in an uncharacteristic form for a major leaguer. What will the 2023 season look like?
