The competition for the batting champion this season is very fierce. Until the 4th, the gap between Guillermo Herredia (SSG Landers, 0.339), No. 2 Son Ah-seop (NC Dinos, 0.337), No. 3 Koo Ja-wook (Samsung Lions, 0.333), and No. 4 Hong Chang-ki (LG Twins, 0.329). All four of them have consistency and accuracy, and with about 30 more games left, competition is expected to continue until the last minute. The batting king is a significant title in that it produces a lot of hits and energizes the batters. In particular, this season's batting champion candidates are key hitters of each team, and the ranking battle is fierce. He has to win the title himself by entering as many at-bats as possible.
It is also interesting that no matter who becomes the batting king, it is the first title in his life. Eredia, who first stepped on the KBO league stage this year, will challenge for the third foreign batting king after Cliff Brumba (Hyundai Unicorns, 0.343) in 2004 and Eric Thames (NC, 0.381) in 2015. He may remain the first foreign hitter to become the batting champion in his KBO League debut season. The weight of the team is also significant, with his team batting average falling to 0.248 (9th place) during the period he left due to injury (August 4-29).
Son Ah-seop, the spearhead of the NC lineup, is also aiming to become the first batting champion since his debut in 2007. With 150 hits in the KBO League's first eight consecutive seasons on the verge, if he wins the title of the batting king, even the eyes that were concerned about the "aging curve" can be immediately put to rest. It is also an opportunity to wash away the disappointment that Choi Hyung-woo (KIA Tigers, 0.354) missed the batting champion even after recording a high batting average of 0.352 in 2020 when he was the Lotte Giants. 토토
After returning from a hamstring injury, Koo Ja-wook showed off his terrible batting sense and entered the competition for the batting champion. He led Samsung's batting lineup with a batting average of 0.397 (58 hits in 146 at-bats) in 38 games from July to August. Although he ranked third in the batting category (0.349) in 2015 when he received the Rookie of the Year award, this is the first time that he has entered the competition for the batting king in earnest. It is also an opportunity to prove that the club's choice to give a multi-year contract of up to 12 billion won for five years ahead of the 2022 season was not wrong.
Hong Chang-ki rebounded by raising his batting average, which fell to 0.286 last year, by more than 4 percent this season. Thanks to his on-base instinct by solidifying his position as a leadoff under manager Yeom Kyung-yeop, he will be able to challenge for the first batting king in his life. The batting average fluctuation is also relatively small thanks to the most at-bats among the four candidates. Considering the large fluctuations in batting average between Eredia and Koo Ja-wook, who played less than 400 at-bats due to the absence of injuries, many at-bats could work in an advantageous last-minute "one-ri fight."