Samsung also finished last in pro baseball. , with a batting average of 0.349, 11 homers, 57 RBIs and 17 stolen bases, he exploded his potential. Of course, the rookie of the year was also his share. Afterwards, Ja-wook Koo, who became the team’s leading hitter, was awarded a large sum of 12 billion won for 5 years with a multi-year contract as a non-free agent (FA) ahead of the 2022 season. It was a move contrary to the evaluation that they were stingy with investments, sending them away without any regrets when they obtained FA qualifications after leading the ‘Samsung Dynasty’ after the club’s management was transferred to Cheil Worldwide. It meant that Ja-wook Koo was acknowledged as the team’s star.
However, Ja-wook Koo had the worst performance last season, the first year of a large contract. Injuries and sluggishness combined, and he only appeared in 99 games. His batting average was 0.293 (120 hits in 409 at-bats), but his slugging power was greatly missed with only 5 home runs, less than a quarter of the 2021 season home runs (22). Naturally, his RBI production also decreased, with just 38 RBIs. Since he is a high-paid person with a salary of over 2 billion won, there was even talk of ‘eating and running’.
The 2023 season greeted with great pride. Even before leaving on June 5 due to a hamstring injury, he had a batting average of 0.295, 3 homers and 24 RBIs. His batting average was close to 300, but his productivity was too low. Along with the rise of the main gun, Samsung’s performance also fell to the bottom.
Koo Ja-wook, who returned from an injury after a month or so through the match against Doosan on the 4th of last month, has changed 180 degrees. As if trying to prove that his healthy skills are this much, he hits hard every day. Ja-wook Koo drove his batting average to 0.377 (23 hits in 61 at-bats) in July alone, raising his batting average to 0.316 for the season.
In August, Ja-wook Koo’s bat is turning even sharper. Until the last 19th KIA, his monthly batting average reached a whopping 0.475 (28 hits in 59 at-bats). He hit home runs in three consecutive games, including his first full base cap, before KIA on the 19th, and swept 4 home runs and 17 RBIs in August alone. Thanks to the great performance of the main gun, Samsung succeeded in getting out of last place.스포츠토토
Ja-wook Koo, who raised his batting average to 0.347 (105 hits in 303 at-bats) for the season thanks to the drive-by, is leading the batting champion race as of the 19th. It is the result of abandoning the home run greed and maximizing the contact ability, aiming to produce batted balls focused on single hits and double hits. Although he has only 8 homers this season, he ranks first in the league in doubles (29), and his slugging percentage is 0.528, which is 3rd overall in the league.
Will Koo Ja-wook be able to win his first hitting title? With the current momentum, he can surpass not only the batting champion but also his career high batting average (0.349) as a rookie.
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