“The team atmosphere is energized and the young players are showing confidence.”
Koo struggled last season, hitting .291 with five home runs, 37 RBIs, 69 runs scored and a .736 OPS in 99 games. However, he has rebounded this season. In 76 games, he has 96 hits, five home runs, 44 RBIs, 39 runs scored, and a .338 OPS of 0.911. He is first in the league in batting average. 메이저놀이터
Guzauk was sidelined for a month in June with a hamstring injury, but has been swinging the bat since his return. He leads Samsung’s offense in the second half with 34 hits, two home runs, 17 RBIs, nine runs scored, and a .436 OPS of 1.121.
Samsung’s offense has been hot in the second half. With a team batting average of 0.309 in the second half, they are the only team in the 10 clubs with a triple-digit batting average. They are first with a team OPS of 0.789 and first in team RBIs with 100.
Samsung head coach Park Jin-man believes that Koo’s example on and off the field has helped his younger teammates, especially as he has influenced the younger players and set the tone for the entire team.
Koo took over as interim captain after Oh Jae-il was injured in July. However, he was named the official captain on August 4.
Park Jin-man said, “He was the interim captain and then officially put on the captain’s armband, and he’s very supportive of the juniors in the dugout. Before, if his play was not going well, he would get a little discouraged, but now, even if he can’t, he comes to the side of the juniors and gives them advice.”
“He kept talking about hitting during the game. The juniors like Kim Hyun-joon, Lee Jae-hyun, and Kim Sung-yoon keep talking about it,” he said, “and it energizes the team atmosphere. The younger players also seem to be showing more confidence on the field.”
The younger players’ performances have also been influenced by Guzauk. Kim Sung-yoon went from batting .217 with a .577 OPS in the first half of the year to .396 with a .950 OPS in the second half. Kim Hyun-jun has maintained his first half pace with a 0.307 OPS and 0.717 OPS in the second half. Lee Jae-hyun has also been on fire in the second half, hitting .313 with an OPS of 0.835.