Despite his injury this season, "scene stealer" Jang Doo-sung (25, Lotte Giants), who succeeded in stealing double digits in the first division for the first time, showed good performance against demanding Japanese pitchers.
Jang Doo-sung started as the team's No. 1 hitter and left fielder in the 2024 Ulsan-KBO Fall League game against the NPB Softbank Hawks at Munsu Baseball Stadium in Ulsan on the 17th.
From his first at-bat in the top of the first inning, Jang pushed a fastball of 144 kilometers per hour outside the first pitch off Softbank starting pitcher Sanshiro Izaki, making a living by garnering a hit in front of the left field. Despite being restrained by his opponents, he stole the bases on the second pitch from the second batter's box.
Jang didn't stop there. At bat, Shin tried to steal third base from the first pitch. Then catcher Riku Watanabe's throw flowed next to the third baseman, and Jang immediately hit home. With Jang's fast foot, Lotte easily scored the first run.
In the third inning, Jang fouled his first fastball, picked out all the balls that fell out, and walked the ball after five pitches. Later, he added a steal to the second base at Kim Dong-hyuk's at-bat, and added a run when Shin Yoon-hoo hit the left field with two outs and a third base.
Jang, who was withdrawn due to a fly to the center field in the fifth inning, made it to the third base by making an infield hit towards the second baseman in the eighth inning. On the day, he recorded two hits, one walk, two runs and three steals from three times at bat. Although his team's batters lost 2-8 with four hits and two runs, Jang's stake was very high.
Jang Doo-sung, who met after the game, said, "I thought it was a good experience because Japanese pitchers have a level," adding, "I thought I should hit it short with a line drive from the batter's box, but it's good to see a good ball coming out while playing."
Jang, who had a hit at his first batter's box, stole the base on the second pitch immediately after watching the first pitch. How could he have grasped the timing of the stolen base when he was new to the pitcher? When he saw the first pitch, he saw the quick motion (slide step), and thought, "Oh, I think I can go there enough. I thought I could afford it," so I went to second base. "I saw some moves on the second base, so I made a bold start."
This year, Jang Doo-sung mainly played as a pinch runner, stealing 14 times in 17 stolen base attempts, showing an 82.4 percent success rate. It was an incredible performance to be a player who succeeded in only 10 steals (three failed) in three seasons until last year. Regarding this development, he said, "It came better because the two coaches, Ko Young-min and Yoo Jae-shin, trusted me, and I also trusted the coaches. I am practicing to upgrade with Coach Ko Young-min even in the closing training."
Japanese pitchers also found it difficult to deal with third and fourth-tier teams. "After that, I kept seeing left-handed pitchers," Jang said. 안전놀이터 "The foreign pitcher (Alexander Armenta) who threw after me had the best ball. It reached 154 kilometers per hour." "I thought foreign pitchers were hitting balls in the first team. I don't usually have the chance to deal with those types of pitchers," he said, conveying the significance of the educational league.
Looking back on this season, Jang Doo-sung, who said, "I was out for about six to seven weeks due to (hamstring) injury, and there was also impatience in the first team," said, "The goal is to make a lot of good pitches even if the results don't come out as we practiced in the batting, and to increase the success rate while boldly doing it on the base."