You rather miss Jose Pirella (35)?
Pirella, a foreign hitter who played for the Samsung Lions from 2021 to 2023, left a pretty good performance. In 2022, he was in a position to compete with Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants) of the Kiwoom Heroes for the best hitter in the KBO League. Last year, he was not bad with a batting average of 0.285 with 16 homers and 80 RBIs and an OPS of 0.764 in 139 games.
Compared to 2021-2022, however, Samsung’s slugging capability has significantly declined. Eventually, Samsung let go of Pirella and brought in David McKinnon, a new foreign hitter. He played 72 games in the half-season, hitting four home runs and a slugging percentage of 0.386 (W386). A foreign hitter who plays at Samsung Lions Park as his home ground is truly batter-friendly. Samsung replaced McKinnon, who hit his last home run in the All Star game. 메이저놀이터
The foreign hitter Ruben Kadenas (27) signed a contract with Kadenas for a total of 477,000 U.S. dollars for the second half of the season. Kadenas made his debut in the match against the Lotte Giants in Daegu on July 19 and had six hits, two homers and five RBIs from 15 times at bat through July 21. Notably, he hit a walk-off two-run shot at the bottom of the ninth inning at the game on Sunday.
That was it. After striking out at the first batter’s box against the KT Wiz in Daegu on July 26, Cardenas was replaced due to back pain. He began his mysterious journey here. The hospital diagnosed him with no major problems. However, Cardenas constantly complained of pain. Eventually, he was wearing a dugout and a waistband.
The results of diagnosis may vary slightly from hospital to hospital. Generally, foreign players are sensitive about their health. If they are not in good condition at all, they tend not to play in games. About 10 days have passed like that. Kadenas played as a pinch hitter in the game against the Hanwha Eagles in Daegu on Sunday, but was struck out. He surprised players and fans at the center field defense in the top of the ninth inning.
Kim’s hit flew to the deep end. However, he was able to block the ball with a single stroke. Nevertheless, he threw the ball to the infield very slowly. Kim Tae-yeon leisurely entered the second base. Lee Seung-hyun on the mound was surprised. Then, coach Park Jin-man immediately changed his name to Kim Heon-gon. It was a change of censure.
Samsung has excluded Cadenas from the first team ahead of the match against Hanwha in Daegu on Wednesday. He effectively said he would not use the team anymore. Samsung has to make a choice now. There is a way to register as a player by signing a contract with a new foreign hitter for one week until July 15, the deadline for registration of the postseason of foreign players. Or, the team should have a ranking battle without foreign hitters this season. It is no exaggeration to say that Samsung is already spending one season without helping foreign hitters.
Coincidentally, Samsung’s batters exploded when Kadenas disappeared in the game on Sunday. However, Samsung’s players, who failed to properly use foreign hitters who invested 660 million won (approx. It is truly unfortunate that they are competing properly at the top of the list for the first time in a long time.