“It’s kind of embarrassing to be asked about my first home run like this”
SSG Landers’ Shin-soo Choo went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, two RBIs, and one run scored as the No. 2 designated hitter against KT Wiz in the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League at SSG Landers Field in Incheon, South Korea, on June 26.
In the bottom of the first inning, Shin-soo Choo led off with a double off KT Sidearm starter Uhm Sang-baek. With SSG up 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning, he took a second pitch from Uhm Sang-baek, a 145-kilometer-per-hour fastball, over the center field wall for a two-run home run. It was his first home run of the season and the 50th of his KBO career.
After reaching base on an infield single in the fifth inning,
Choo Shin-soo completed his three-hit game with a clean single to right field in his final at-bat of the eighth inning. 안전놀이터 It was his first three-hit game of the season.
“It’s kind of embarrassing to be asked about my first home run,” Shin-soo Choo said after the game. It’s not my first home run, but it means it came late. I always try to help the team, but I’m thinking about making changes in different directions because I’m not doing so well lately,” he said of his home run.
“I’m getting a lot of advice from my manager, who was also a left-handed hitter and was very good in his career,” said Shin-soo Choo, who added, “My teammates were also worried about whether I felt sorry for myself. I’m also very good at listening to other people’s opinions, so hearing from my siblings gives me strength when I’m feeling down. With such support around me, I thought a lot about how we are a family and a team. I think that’s why I was able to show a good performance today,” he said, thanking Lee and his teammates for their support during his slump.
In his major league career,
Choo is batting .1652 with 218 home runs, 782 RBIs, 961 runs scored, 157 doubles, and an OPS of .824 in 6087 games (1671 hits), and in the KBO, he is batting .373 with 49 home runs, 171 RBIs, 230 runs scored, 49 doubles, and an OPS of .811 in 1284 games (329 hits). However, he has struggled to break out of his slump this season, going 1-for-32 with four home runs, four RBIs, four runs scored, three stolen bases, and a .458 OPS in 12 games.
After reaching the 2,000-hit milestone in his Korea-U.S. career with a 1-for-5 performance against Lotte on April 24, Shin-Soo Choo continued to struggle, going 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base against Lotte on April 25. However, in this game, he rebounded with three hits, including his first home run of the season.
“It would be great if baseball was good one day and good the next,” said Choo, who laughed, “I’ve been through heaven and hell, so I don’t dare to say too much. But I think I found some confidence with today’s game, and I’ll try to find the feeling of hitting while recalling the baseball I’ve been playing.”
In his final at-bat of the day,
Choo was nearly hit in the head by a 145-kilometer-per-hour fastball off KT left-handed reliever Jeon Jong-ju. Shin-soo quickly pulled his body back to avoid the ball, which flew over his head. It was so close that his helmet came off. Afterward, as he prepared to bat again, he had a brief conversation with catcher Kang Baek-ho.
“I’ve been hit by a lot of pitches in the U.S.,” he said, “but I don’t think any pitcher intentionally tries to hit you. I’m honestly the kind of person who asks if I get hit. I have to get on base to score anyway,” he said, “but I’m sensitive in the head. It’s been that way since America. When Kang Baek-ho said, ‘You didn’t do it on purpose,’ I replied, ‘You can get hit, but be careful with your head. That’s all we talked about. Balls that hit the body can happen in the game. I’m not that sensitive,” he said.
After dodging the ball that hit him in the head, 카지노사이트 추천 Shin-soo Choo took the next pitch and made a clean hit. “I’m human, so it leaves an afterimage. It’s a short time, but you have to get your mind right at the plate. I can’t let something like that break my batting flow or rhythm because I have to win the game anyway. I didn’t think much about it,” he said, reflecting on the moment of his hit.