Kang Baek-ho, the ‘genius hitter’ of KT Wiz, had a difficult season last season due to two injuries. And the salary contract he accepted had a drastically reduced amount written on it. In 2022, the annual salary was 550 million won, which was the highest annual salary in the fifth year, but this time it was 290 million won, which was reduced by 260 million won. A whopping 47.3% decrease.
Kang Baek-ho thoroughly prepared in the off-season. He lost weight to prevent injury and transformed into a morning person during the spring camp held in Tucson, Arizona, USA. After waking up at 6:30 a.m., soaking in the warm whirlpool to warm up, having breakfast, and going to the training ground with Park Byeong-ho and other staff members, tea batting and weight training. After that, he went through a set training session with his teammates. 토토사이트
Kang Baek-ho said, “It’s the best physical condition of his six years of professional life. The hitting feeling is good,” and said that preparations early on were paying off. In order to adapt to the fast ball, he did not miss out on training by visiting the bullpen every day and watching the pitchers pitching the bullpen from the plate.
And after he was called up to the national team, his good condition continued. He is continuing a good trend by hitting a home run in his first evaluation match against the NC Dinos.
Before being summoned to the national team, Kang Baek-ho told KT manager Lee Kang-cheol, “My goal this year is to hit 210 hits.” He shifted his hitting point from the front to the back a bit to look at the ball longer and hit the ball.
And coach Lee set up a plan to build a strong hitting line with a strong second by placing him as the number 2 hitter.
The most hits in a season is 201 hits recorded by LG Twins Seo Kun-chang in 2014 when he was a Nexen Heroes. Since then, many batters have tried to reach 200 hits, but they have stopped right in front of their noses.
In 2020, Doosan Bears’ Jose Fernandez had 199 hits, one short of 200 hits. Lee Jung-hoo also
had the most individual hits in a season with 193 hits in 2019 and last year.
Kang Baek-ho’s 210 hits means that he will become the greatest hitter of all time.
If he sets a new record for the most hits in a season by hitting an unprecedented 210 hits, he can become a strong MVP candidate.
Will the sluggish performance of last year become a source of nourishment and create a splendid revival this season? I am curious about the result of Kang Baek-ho’s challenge.