The biggest driving force behind the KIA Tigers’ 9-game winning streak, which has picked up the pace since the middle of last month, was the power of the ‘batting line’. Regardless of the batting order, he tormented his opponents with consecutive hits or extra-base hits, and even overwhelmed the game by scoring a large number of runs. The flow was similar until the game on the 9th.메이저사이트
However, unlike usual, the players who shook their opponents with quick feet without making long shots ended up winning. Neither the opposing team’s fielders nor the manager could find a way to deal with it. In one game, as many as eight stolen bases were stolen by one team.
KIA won 8-7 in the 14th game of the season against the LG Twins of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on the 10th, recording three consecutive wins. The season record was 60 wins, 2 draws, and 52 losses (0.536).
KIA attempted to steal every chance they got, starting with Kim Do-young’s steal in the bottom of the first inning when he walked with one out. In the bottom of the second inning, Park Chan-ho, who hit a single with one out and runners on second base, stole second base, and in the bottom of the third inning, leadoff hitter Socrates Brito, who got a walk after a 10-pitch game, headed to second base. There were obviously no long hits such as home runs or doubles, but when the third inning ended, the gap between the two teams had already widened to 7-2.
This wasn’t the end. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Kim Do-young succeeded in stealing one more base, and in the bottom of the 7th, Chan-ho Park and Won-jun Choi made moves. In the case of Choi Won-jun, he stole second base and then third base, confusing the LG infield. KIA, which did not have a single extra-base hit of a double or higher, recorded a whopping eight stolen bases. In fact, many stolen bases led to victory.
According to the KIA club, this ranks second in most stolen bases by a team in a single game in the club’s history. The first place in this category was 10 against the Gwangju Lotte Giants on May 26, 1985, 38 years ago, and the second place was 8 against the Jeonju MBC Blue Dragons on May 2, 1982. If we narrow the scope since the team name was changed from Haitai to KIA, there has never been a time when more stolen bases were made in a game than on this day.
Moreover, what attracts attention is the fact that he has been constantly shaking from the first inning in front of LG coach Yeom Kyung-yeop, who has emphasized ‘mobility’ and ‘running baseball’ more than anyone else. Not only domestic players such as Park Chan-ho and Kim Do-young, but also foreign hitter Socrates did not hesitate to try to steal bases.
This could be a big weapon for KIA not only in the regular season but also in fall baseball. If a team that has already built a batting lineup that is difficult for all teams shows quick feet, the opponent will inevitably have a lot to prepare for. Coach Yeom Kyeong-yeop also acknowledged the power of his opponent in an interview before the game that day, saying, “KIA’s batting lineup is the most difficult among the nine teams (excluding LG).” Will the ‘KIA-style baseball’ that marked a milestone in the history of the Tigers club show its power this fall?