Kiwoom gave up all of the last 3 games in the first half against kt at home.
Kiwoom Heroes, led by coach Hong Won-ki, suffered a 0-9 defeat in a home game against kt Wiz in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 13th. Kiwoom, who finished the first half of the year with 7 consecutive losses by giving up all 3 matches against kt held at home, reduced the ride to the lowest Samsung Lions, who defeated the KIA Tigers 4-1 that day, to 5 games (38 wins, 2 draws, 46 losses).바카라
Meanwhile, Kiwoom requested the Korean Baseball Commission to file a waiver notice on Edison Russell, a foreign hitter who has been sidelined for nearly a month due to a wrist injury, and announced that it had recruited American left-handed outfielder Ronnie Dawson for $85,000. Dawson, who has experience in 4 big league games, 641 minor league games, and 63 independent league games, is expected to join the team in time for the first game of the second half against the Lotte Giants on the 21st after completing administrative procedures such as visa issuance.
Sans made a twist and Fox didn’t
In fact, it would be great if a foreign player who invested a lot of money and recruited them performed well, but a lot of investment does not always lead to good results. In fact, out of the 5 new foreign pitchers who entered the KBO League with a total of $1 million ahead of this season, the player who has been active in the KBO League until the end of the first half has the most wins (12 wins) and ERA (1.71) in the first half, Eric. Only Pedy (NC Dinos) and Ariel Hurado (Kiwoom), who ranked first in innings (111.2 innings).
On the other hand, substitute foreign players who join for a relatively small amount do not always end up with disappointing performances. Jerry Sands (Hanshin Tigers foreign scout), who played an active role in Heroes in 2018 and 2019, was the representative player who set an example of a “cost-effective alternative foreign player”. Sands joined the Heroes in August 2018 for a total of $100,000 as a replacement foreign player for Michael Choice and exceeded expectations with a batting average of .314 with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs in 25 games.
After the 2018 season, the Heroes, who had little memory of having a good foreign hitter, re-signed with the Sands for a total of $500,000. Although the ransom was still on the cheap side, Sands’ performance in 2019 was superior to any foreign player. Sands, who played in 139 games, led Kiwoom to the second Korean Series runner-up, batting average of .305, 28 homers, 113 RBIs, and 100 runs scored in the league. Sands is still remembered as the best foreign hitter in the history of the Heroes club.
Of course, there were quite a few substitute foreign players who came up with the proverb, “cheap is expensive.” In 2015, when coach Kim Seong-geun took office, the Hanwha Eagles recruited a niger Morgan who had 598 big league games, but Morgan was kicked out after only 10 games. After parting ways with Morgan, Hanwha brought in outfielder and catcher Jake Fox for $120,000. However, Fox, who played in 38 games, left Korea after the season with a batting average of .278, 7 homers, and 25 RBIs, showing only the performance he received for his salary.
Scott McGregor, whom the Heroes recruited as a replacement foreign pitcher for Robert Coelho in 2016, was also a cheap foreign pitcher with a total price of only $150,000 (MacGregor was playing in an independent league at the time of recruitment, so he could not be brought in relatively cheaply. there was). However, McGregor, who pitched in 14 games, pitched 90 innings, recording an average ERA of 5.20 with an average of 6 wins and 3 losses.
With Dawson at a cheap ransom,
Kiwoom, who played an active role as a substitute foreign player in 2020 ahead of this season, re-recruited Edison Russell after two and a half years, who recorded a batting average of .254, 2 homers, 31 RBIs, and 22 runs in 65 games. Russell was a star player who was selected as a National League All-Star in 2016 while he was with the Chicago Cubs and was a member of the Cubs’ World Series championship, but after leaving Kiwoom, he failed to return to the big leagues, and his career was jeopardized while touring the Mexican League and the Dominican League. was continuing
However, during the month of April this year, his second season at Kiwoom, Russell seemed to wash away the sluggishness of 2020 by wielding a batting average of .342 with 2 home runs and 24 RBIs. Russell, who had been leading the batting line of the Heroes, where Lee Jung-hoo was sluggish, began to falter in May and was excluded from the first team entry due to a wrist injury after the match against Hanwha on June 16. Kiwoom, who was struggling with the ‘absence of hitter number 4’, waited for Russell’s return and replaced the foreign player with Dawson on the 13th.
Dawson, who made his big league debut as a member of the Houston Astros in 2021, played in four big league games and stayed with a shabby performance of 1 hit in 8 at-bats (.125 batting average) and 1 run. His minor league record wasn’t particularly outstanding either, with a batting average of .247 with 72 homers, 305 RBIs and 105 stolen bases. However, in the independent league where he played an active role this year, he posted a .282 batting average, 13 homers, and 39 RBIs in 63 games. Dawson is more of a ‘five-tool player’ who excels in both offense and defense rather than a power hitter like Sands.
In fact, Dawson is more of a player who creates chances as a table setter rather than producing a lot of RBIs from the center line. Therefore, from the second half, the possibility that Kim Hye-sung will move to the center batting line and Dawson will play an active role as a table setter cannot be ruled out. Currently, Kiwoom is the only outfielder who can be said to be a clear starter due to Lim Ji-yeol’s injury and Lee Hyeong-jong’s unsatisfactory performance, center fielder Lee Jung-hoo. It means that Dawson needs to take over the starting position even for the stability of the outfield.
On the 13th, Kiwoom signed a contract with Dawson for a total of $85,000. Even considering that Dawson is a substitute foreign player who joined near the end of the first half and can only play in the second half, his ransom is quite low compared to other foreign substitutes. But, as Jerry Sands in 2018 demonstrated, his salary and performance are by no means proportional. Will Kiwoom’s new foreign hitter, Dawson, be able to show an activity that meets the expectations of Heroes fans in the second half?