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The scoreboard shows that the Lotte Giants 23 runs on 29 hits in a match against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil, Seoul, Saturday. It was the largest number of hits in a game since the Korea Baseball Organization was founded in 1982. / Yonhap |
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"Slugfest" has been an oft-used word to describe Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) games this season.
Pitchers have been battered, giving up so many hits and runs that there have been double-digit scores in 58 games of the 219 games played.
There seem to be several explanations for this phenomenon.
One is that there are more foreign players, as the Korean baseball league has allowed teams to sign three players from abroad, up from two last year.
The change motivated clubs to seek batters in addition to pitchers. Previously, they have preferred having two foreign pitchers in the belief that pitching is critical for victory and foreign batters take more time to adjust to the league.
But this season, nine of the 28 foreigners are batters. And they all have experience either in Major League Baseball (MLB), Minor League Baseball (MILB) or Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Many have already put their names on the list of the batting leaders. Six foreign sluggers have made it into the top 20 players with the most home runs.
Eric Thames of the NC Dinos has 13 home runs with 60 hits, 41 runs and a batting average of .333. Luis Jimenez of the Lotte Giants has a batting average of .377 with 30 runs, 55 hits and 11 home runs. Brett Pill of the Kia Tigers and Jorge Cantu of the Doosan Bears have also stood out with more than 50 hits, including 13 and 12 home runs, respectively.
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In contrast, teams seem to lack strong starting pitchers and bullpens.
Andrew Van Hekken of the Nexen Heroes has recorded the lowest earned-run average (ERA) of 2.92. He is the only pitcher maintaining an ERA under 3.00, and there are only nine pitchers with ERAs under 4.00.
Last week, fans saw a number of interesting records set related to team firepower.
The Giants scored 23 runs on 29 hits in the second of a three-game series against the Bears in Jamsil, Seoul, Saturday, which ended 23-1.
The entire starting lineup recorded at least one hit and run, which marked the seventh time that has happened in KBO history, and it was also the largest number of hits in a game since the KBO was founded in 1982.
But the Giants' offensive assault continued the following day, when Lotte again routed the Bears 14-5, with 18 hits including one home run.
The Giants' leadoff Jung Hoon, who got on base nine consecutive at-bats, extended the streak to 13, tying the previous record.
But obviously, how many runs a team scores is not the only factor in winning a game. It is also important for a team to shut down its opponent with pitching and defense.
The Giants' batting average is the second-highest in the league at .290, right after the Bears' .310, and the Busan-based club has scored 287 runs in 48 games, which is the third-highest. But the team is still only in fifth place in the standings.
In contrast, the Samsung Lions' batting average stands at .286 with 260 runs, which ranks seventh among the league's nine teams. But the Daegu-based club is leading the league at 30-14, thanks to its league-low team ERA of 4.02.
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