“If you go to the batter’s box steadily and hit a hit and a home run, you will get results such as numbers at the end of the season.”
These were the words of Matt Davidson of the NC Dinos, whom he met in May. Then, he kept his promise about four months later, and he hit 40 home runs.
Davidson, who has joined hands with NC Dinosaurs ahead of this season, is a right-handed pitcher and infielder. He hit a total of 54 home runs in the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) and sent 226 hits out of the fence in the Minor League, which is cited as his strength of long hitters. When he was wearing the Hiroshima Toyokaf jersey of the Japanese professional baseball league in the 2023 season, he also had a batting average of only 0.210, but showed off his natural strength by hitting 19 home runs and 44 RBIs.
Davidson has joined the KBO League since then. Although he received a lot of expectations, he showed both light and shadow in the beginning of the season. He hit a long shot that was not unusual, but he was a little disappointed when he stepped down from the clutch situation several times.
Despite this, Davidson was not swayed. Not only did he study with scouting reports distributed by his club, but he also worked hard to adapt himself to the KBO league by creating his own scouting reports.
He was confident as well. “I don’t care about batting average or home runs. My goal every year has always been to be a steady player,” Davison told a reporter in May. “If you go to the batter’s box and hit a hit or a home run, you will get a performance in terms of numbers when the season is over. I only care about what I can do, including refining my batting performance and showing good performance.”
Davidson gradually settled in the KBO League and began to display his dominance. He swung the bat with a batting average of 0.263 in June and 12 homers and 25 RBIs, and a batting average of 0.2867 and 21 RBIs in July. He also posted a batting average of 0.325 with six homers and 16 RBIs in August, and has displayed a batting average of 0.556 with two homers and three RBIs in September, including the game on Thursday.
Notably, the match against the Changwon Kiwoom Heroes in March was a match that demonstrated Davidson’s true value. Starting as the third batter and first baseman, he bullied Kiwoom pitchers all the time and contributed to NC’s 11-5 victory.
Davidson, who got on base due to a left field error in the bottom of the first inning and scored a run, showed his presence in earnest at the bottom of the second inning with one out and one on the first base when NC was leading 4-0. He hit a 127-kilometer curveball on the second pitch by right-hander Ariel Furado, the opponent team’s starting pitcher, to lead the team to a two-run shot with a driving distance of 135 meters over the left fence.
As a result, Davison, who has played cannon for three consecutive games following the match against the Incheon SSG Landers on the 31st and the match against SSG on the 1st, will make his name as a 40-homer hitter for the first time in four years since Mel Rojas Jr. (KT Wiz), who shot 47 home runs in 2020. In addition, he is leading the home run gap with the second-ranked Kim Do-young (KIA Tigers, 35 home runs) in this category, widening the gap to five.
His performance continued. He struck out at the bottom of the fourth inning, but hit a double to the left with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning before hitting home a timely hit by Kwon Hee-dong. Afterwards, he had a hit to left-center with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, before replacing pinch runner Do Tae-hoon, and Davidson’s final result was three hits, one homer and two RBIs from five times at bat on the day. 메이저사이트
“Davidson’s three hits, including a home run, laid the foundation for his team’s victory,” NC manager Kang In-kwon said after the game. “I was able to win with the concentration of the batters.”
Davidson has achieved a meaningful 40 home runs thanks to his hard work. Now, he is poised to do his best for NC`s fall baseball season. Currently, NC ranks ninth with 56 wins, two draws and 65 losses, but it is certainly not time to give up due to a four-game gap with the fifth-ranked KT Wiz (62 wins, two draws and 63 losses), which is the last line to advance to the post season.
Davison said in a broadcast interview, “Recently, the team has been performing well in a good atmosphere. There are days when baseball is not good when you try to force yourself to do something, and there are days when you put down the burden. I will do my best as a team and a player every day.” Attention is focusing on whether Davison will continue to hit a cheerful long ball and lead NC’s miraculous fall baseball.