SSG Landers veteran fielder Oh Tae-gon showed his presence with a home run and good defense in the second half of the game.
Oh Tae-gon started as the ninth batter and first baseman in Game 10 of the season against the Doosan Bears in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 26th, helping his team win 6-1 with one hit (one home run) and two RBIs in three at-bats.
Oh was hit on his left big toe by a foul ball in the match against KT Wiz in Munhak on April 27, and was listed as injured due to a fine fracture. Since then, he focused on recovery for nearly four weeks, and came up to the first team ahead of the match against KT in Suwon on May 25. As infielder Ko Myung-joon was out of the lineup due to a right hamstring injury, Oh Tae-gon has filled the spot.
Oh had no hit in two at-bats until the middle of the game, and thus failed to display stellar performance, but managed to dampen his opponent’s willingness to pursue him with a home run. With his team leading 4-1 at the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs and runners on the first base, he pushed Park Jung-soo’s first pitch of 141 km/h to draw a two-run arch over the right-center fence. Oh’s second home run of this season.
Oh also made a critical scene in defense. In the top of the eighth inning, he was playing defense in the batter’s box of leadoff hitter Cho Ha-sung, before making a diving catch to score an out count. “Although Oh played as a starter for the first time in a long time since his injury, he showed great performance in offense and defense,” coach Lee Soo-yong said after the game.
However, he couldn’t smile broadly despite his team’s victory. He felt more sorry during the hiatus than satisfaction with his performance. “I felt so sorry for the team because I was away for so long as a senior member of the team 먹튀검증. I’m glad that I came back after a month and helped the team in good shape,” Oh said.
He added, “In the process of raising his physical condition in the second division, (the late) Myung-jun was injured unexpectedly and came up (to the first division) earlier than scheduled, but I didn’t want to give an excuse. So I prepared hard so that it wouldn’t be obvious, and I think what I tried hard to do led to a good result.”
As of Tuesday, SSG is ranking seventh with 47 wins, one draw and 48 losses (0.495). Now is the time to cheer up to advance to the post season. Head coaches and players are running fast to watch fall baseball games.
Oh Tae-gon said, “Our team is a team with autumn DNA and I don’t think it will collapse easily. We will prepare well for the rest of the game so that we can go to a higher ranking than the fifth place,” adding, “I’m so grateful to the fans who support us even when it’s raining a lot and the weather is bad.”