Shining eyes and a lean physique. An all-around hitter from the Hotazun tribe. From the beginning of his debut, he exuded a “man torn from a manga” persona.
He has a burning competitive spirit and leadership qualities. The Samsung Lions’ Koo Ja-rook literally “tore up” the Busan Lotte Giants with a crazy performance of 6-for-6 (1 home run), 3 runs scored and 4 RBIs on Tuesday.
He came back from 0-4 and 3-7 to win the game 10-7 and give his team the win. Unfortunately, he fell short of the all-time record of seven hits in a game (Kareem Garcia, 2010). Koo became the 11th player to hit six home runs in a game, joining Kim Ki-tae, Chae Jong-beom, Jang Sung-ho, Yang Jun-hyuk, Lee Taek-geun, Jeong Geun-woo, Jeon Jun-woo, Jung Hoon, Lee Byung-kyu Fernandez.
The starting corners gave up four runs in three innings. Koo’s presence was strong as he stared at the pitcher with eyes that seemed to devour every at-bat.
Starting with a single to right in the first inning, he connected with a run in the fourth inning (one run), a two-run double in the sixth inning (two RBI), an RBI single in the seventh inning, an RBI single that tied the game at 7-7 in the eighth inning (one RBI), and an RBI single that tied the game again in the 10th inning. His bat and his nutrition were on point.
“When I saw Guzook today, I thought he was a character from a baseball cartoon,” said captain Park Jin-man. He showed all the plays that a captain can show,” Park said in praise.
After the game, Gu said, “I quickly forgot about the at-bat. I tried to bat with the same feeling every time. The zone was wider than I thought because of the ABS (Automatic Ball Judgment System). I tried to hit the ball as fast as I could, and that led to good results. I just felt like today was the same as yesterday,” he said.
He is particularly strong against the dead ball. He is 3-for-7 with a 1.117 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage). He’s also hit 16 home runs.
“When we come to Sajik, our players have high expectations. I know that. I told them, ‘This is Sajik,'” he smiled.
The home run was preceded by a foul ball, but he didn’t pay attention to it. “I’m tall, so even high pitches become strikes,” Guzauk said. I saw the zone big and 카지노 concentrated on the at-bat. I tend to hit high pitches because I want to see if it’s going to be a strike.”
Especially when he hit the tying run against Lotte closer Kim Won-joong in the bottom of the eighth inning, he was all smiles and no nerves. “I was sure that if I went in with a smile on my face, I would get a better result,” he said.
“I didn’t even see if it was a foul, I was just looking for the ball,” he said of Reyes’ two crucial fouls in the 10th inning of extra innings.
Koo has been the captain of the team since taking over from Oh Jae-il last August. “There are a lot of young players these days,” he said. I gave them a lot of energy and told them to run around like young players. It was good to see,” he laughed.
The team’s centerpiece, superstar, and leader had a childhood, too.
“Honestly, our players are still very young. We don’t have enough fighting spirit. When I was younger, I used to play every day with the mindset that I would die today… I want them to have that kind of attitude. We have a lot of young players, so we need to create a better atmosphere, and I think we need discipline in that atmosphere.”