It was a valuable performance that came out in a situation where the team atmosphere could fall. Ahn Kwon-soo (30), the “vitamin” of the Lotte Giants, contributed to escaping the losing streak by continuing his hard-hitting streak in the demonstration games.
Ahn Kwon-soo started as the team’s first hitter and center fielder in the 2023 KBO league demonstration game against the NC Dinos held at Changwon NC Park on the 24th.
Prior to the match, Lotte was on a five-game토토사이트 losing streak. Since the victory over Doosan Sajik on the 14th, there has been only one draw, and all games have been given up. Key hitters such as Noh Jin-hyeok (34), Jeon Jun-woo (37), and Jack Rex (30) were not in good condition, and mistakes continued in the defense. On the mound, the starting resources except for Han Hyun-hee (30) were disappointing.
Here, an incident occurred where pitcher Seo Jun-won (23) was prosecuted by the prosecution for committing a criminal act against a minor the day before. The club held a disciplinary committee and immediately released Seo Jun-won. It is known that the athletes who heard the news on the afternoon of the day had a quiet time at the lodging.
Of course, the atmosphere of the players could not be good. Nevertheless, Ahn Kwon-soo started training with a bright appearance before the game. And as a result, he reversed the flow with an activity that energized the team.
Ahn Kwon-soo, who was withdrawn with an infield grounder in the first at-bat, survived with a walk in the top of the 3rd inning. Previously, Hwang Seong-bin’s bunt at first base was connected to a double play, continuing the situation that could have been cut off. Lotte tied the game 3-3 with An Chi-Hong’s infield hit and Rex’s superior 3-run home run. Ahn Kwon-soo went on base with a right-handed hit in the 5th inning, and Ahn Chi-hong hit home again with a two-run gun.
Ahn Kwon-soo, who created chances in the previous two at-bats, eventually became the solver himself. At the beginning of the 7th inning when the score was tied at 5-5, Lotte created a scoring opportunity with a ball that hit Kang-Nam Yoo and runner Yun-Hoo Shin stole the base. Ahn Kwon-soo, who came to the plate here, attacked NC second pitcher Song Myeong-ki’s breaking ball and scored a hit that rolled forward to the right fielder. The runner on second base came home, and he himself made his way to second base with sensible play.
On this day, Ahn Kwon-soo recorded 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 RBI and 2 runs in 3 at-bats. Lotte, who scored whenever necessary, won 6-5 despite getting 6 hits and 4 walks, fewer than the opponent (10 hits and 3 walks). With this, Lotte got out of the mire of 5 consecutive losses in demonstration games.
Ahn Kwon-soo is showing an amazing performance in this year’s demonstration game. Mainly playing as the number one hitter and center fielder, he has achieved remarkable results with 13 hits in 20 at-bats and a batting average of 0.650 in 9 games. He is also reaping outstanding figures within the team.
In addition, Ahn Kwon-soo makes a contribution that is not visible in terms of grades. That is the role of ‘atmosphere maker’. Known for his bright appearance since his days at Doosan, he is active as a cheerleader for Dougout even after coming to Lotte. It is hard to believe that he is a new player to the team this year. Coach Larry Sutton also mentioned separately, “Kwon-soo Ahn is creating good energy. He can see players laughing a lot thanks to Kwon-soo Ahn.”
Ahn Kwon-soo, who said before, “I think we need to create this kind of atmosphere. We will try to do it from the front,” said, “I continued with that style at Doosan, so I’m working hard at Lotte.”
Despite his recent good performance, Ahn Kwon-soo was not satisfied. “It’s an exhibition game now, and I have to do well in the regular season, so I don’t care,” he said. “I thought about the mechanism at the Guam (1st) and Okinawa (2nd) camps. I think I have a good balance now,” he said. there is,” he said.
After entering the KBO League in 2020, Ahn Kwon-soo, who had only 88 at-bats for two years, received 267 at-bats in 76 games last season. He took the starting position from the end of April and had a batting average of 0.332 until the end of June.
In the end, it was a fitness issue. Ahn Kwon-soo said, “I fell a lot in the middle last year because of my physical strength,” and said, “I’m paying a lot of attention to physical fitness now.”
Ahn Kwon-soo, a third-generation Korean-Japanese, can only play in the KBO League until this season according to the Military Service Act. After that, he has to choose between returning to Japan or enlisting in the military. In a situation that could be the last season, Ahn Kwon-soo is getting closer to the starting position with impactful performances.