Kang Baek-ho (KT), the core of Ryu Joong-il’s batting lineup, finally broke his silence.
He hit his first home run wearing the Taegeuk symbol, laying the foundation for an escape from his slump.
The Korean national baseball team, led by coach Ryu Joong-il, scored 4-4 in the top of the third inning in the second game of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games Baseball Super Round against China held at the Shaoxing Baseball & Softball Sports Center-Baseball in Hangzhou, China on the 6th. We are ahead with 0.
In the top of the second inning, when Korea was tied 0-0, leadoff hitter Kang Baek-ho opened the attack.
Kang Baek-ho succeeded in getting on base with a clean right-handed hit and improved his batting skills.
Korea was able to take a 2-0 lead as Kim Joo-won immediately hit a two-run home run after Baek-ho Kang reached base.
Afterwards, Choi Ji-hoon’s 1-RBI outfield sacrifice fly added 1 more point to take a 3-0 lead. 지울프-토토
Kang Baek-ho’s performance continued. Kang Baek-ho had a thrilling experience in his second at-bat in the top of the third inning when Korea was ahead 3-0.
With two outs and no runners on base, he blasted a solo home run to make the score 4-0.
It was Kang Baek-ho’s biggest home run in this tournament and the first home run he hit with the adult national team.
After wearing the Taegeuk mark for the first time in the 2019 WBSC Premier 12, Kang Baek-ho performed well at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March this year, but did not hit a home run.
Above all, it was a great shot that heralded an escape from the slump he was in during the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Kang Baek-ho bowed his head with no hits in 4 at-bats in the first and second group stage games against Hong Kong and Taiwan.
He recorded 1 hit in 3 at-bats against Thailand, but did not have Kang Baek-ho’s characteristic long hits.
In the previous day’s game against Japan, he struck out twice except for one infield hit, raising concerns about a prolonged slump, but he regained confidence with multiple hits including a home run that day.
The national team’s main hitters, such as Noh Si-hwan (Hanwha) and Yoon Dong-hee (Lotte), are showing good batting skills, so if Kang Baek-ho rebounds, a more solid central batting lineup can be built.