Samsung Lions’ Koo Ja-Rook is on fire. His first batting title is within reach.
In a midweek three-game series against the KIA Tigers of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Pohang Baseball Stadium on April 1-3, Koo showed off his hot bat by going 7-for-13 with a .538 batting average and three RBIs. In particular, he tormented the KIA mound with back-to-back three-hit performances in games two and three. After going 1-2 in the three games, the team concluded the three-game midweek series with the Rousing Series, but once again, Guzauk’s presence was felt.
In the early part of the season, Guzauk’s performance didn’t really stand out. He had a solid April, hitting .333 with 31 hits in 93 at-bats in 24 games, but struggled in May, hitting .241 with 19 hits in 79 at-bats in 22 games, with one home run and 12 RBIs.
He seemed to rebound in June, but this time injuries got in the way. On June 3 against the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon, he suffered a right hamstring injury that sidelined him for a month. The good news for the team and the player was that he recovered faster than expected and returned before the end of the first half.
After ending the first half of the year with a five-game hitting streak, starting against the Pohang Doosan Bears on June 6, he went on an 11-game hitting streak, starting against the Daegu KT Wiz on June 22 and ending against the KIA on August 3. Koo’s second-half numbers are 12-for-51 with 22 doubles, a .431 batting average, one home run and 14 RBIs in 51 games.
The team gained momentum with the addition of Koo. In the month since his return on July 4 against Doosan, Samsung has won 9 games, tied 9 games, and won exactly 5 out of 19. In the second half of the season alone, they are 6-1 (.545), tied with the NC Dinos for the fourth-highest winning percentage. In particular, Samsung has a team batting average of 0.335 in the second half of the season, which is fueled by not only Koo but also Kim Sung-yoon, Kim Hyun-joon, and Kang Min-ho.토토사이트
If Koo maintains his current pace, he could be in the hunt for the batting title. He is fourth in batting average behind Son Ah-seop (0.332), Guillermo Heredia (0.332), and Yang Ji (0.327). Although he became the titleholder in 2021 with 107 runs scored, Guzauk’s highest ranking in the batting average category was third in 2015 (0.349). He hasn’t had a single batting title season.
Guzauk has a physical advantage over his former competitors, especially after being out of the game for a month. We can’t wait to see how this reignited batting title race plays out.
