“The team is holding up well right now because of Austin.”
LG Twins’ Austin Dean wrote LG’s club history anew in Game 11 of the season against the Kiwoom Heroes of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 24th.
Austin hit a two-run homer off Kim Yoon-ha in the fourth inning and a solo homer off Lee Myung-jong in the eighth inning, marking his 29th and 30th homers of the season. With this homer, Austin succeeded in completing the 87th homerun in KBO history and the first 30 homers-100 RBIs for LG.
No player in the team’s history has ever recorded 30 home runs and 100 RBIs at the same time. Lee Byung-kyu had 30 home runs in 1999, but 99 RBIs were not enough. Roberto Ramos, who has the most home runs in a season for the LG team, hit 38 home runs in the 2020 season, but had only 86 RBIs. In addition, Kim Hyun-soo in the 2020 season and Chae Eun-seong in the 2018 season, who have 119 RBIs in a season in the team’s history, also had only 22 home runs and 25 home runs, respectively. 스포츠토토
Austin displayed his best performance in the LG Twins uniform last season. He displayed a batting average of 0.313 163 hits, 23 homers, 95 RBIs, 87 runs and OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.893 in 139 games. He also displayed a batting average of 0.350 with one homer and three RBIs in five games at the KT Wiz and the Korean Series, fueling his team to regain top position in 29 years. He also renewed his contract for a total of 1.3 million U.S. dollars (down payment of 300,000 dollars, annual salary of 800,000 dollars, incentive 200,000 dollars).
Austin has been playing hardball despite the slump and injury of its key hitters this season as well. He has a batting average of 0.312 138 hits, 30 homers, 111 RBIs, 84 runs and OPS of 0.963.
“Our team is doing well because of Austin. If Austin hadn’t played a role, it would have been a very difficult season,” Yeom Kyung-yeop said. “All the main players are wandering around.” “Austin has so many homeruns with breaking balls. He has good slider timing. He has the lowest strikeout rate among hitters with 30 homeruns so far.”
Now, what manager Yeom Kyung-yeop wants from Austin is to take on the role of LG’s foreign captain, Casey Kelly, and lead Endrick N.S. and Elijah Hernandez.
Kelly was LG’s best foreign pitcher in history. Wearing a pin stripe uniform for LG since 2019, he recorded 73 wins, 46 losses and an earned run average of 3.25 in a total of 163 games in the KBO league, 989.1 innings. In the 2022 season, he played in 27 games (166.1 innings), recorded 16 wins, 4 losses and an earned run average of 2.54, and overcame a slump to post 10-7 losses and an earned run average of 3.83 in the 2023 season, contributing to LG’s overall win in 29 years (1990, 1994, 2023).
This season, however, has been sluggish repeatedly, with 19 games recording five wins, eight losses and a 4.51 ERA, and the team ended its Korean career with a game against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on July 20. The team held a grand farewell event for Kelly, who has always devoted herself to the team. Kelly was absolutely supported by LG’s teammates as well as by his superb fan service, always thinking of the team, and strong pitching on the mound. It was also Kelly who helped new foreign players adapt by playing as a long-time expat player.
“Now, I hope that Austin will succeed Kelly and lead foreigners to help them adapt to Korean culture,” Yeom said. “He also has that kind of personality,” adding, “He has a high level of satisfaction with the KBO League. Any pride he has in his team is an amazing player. I wish he would play the role that Kelly played. There is a huge difference between having a central player and not having one.”