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| ▲ NC Dinos' players train at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 15, 2020, in preparation for the Korean Series against the Doosan Bears. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ In this file photo from Nov. 5, 2020, Oh Jae-il of the Doosan Bears celebrates his two-run home run against the LG Twins in the top of the fourth inning of Game 2 of the Korea Baseball Organization first-round postseason series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. (Yonhap) |
Korean Series-batter
Slumping batter seen as key player in baseball championship series
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- Ahead of the South Korean baseball championship series, managers of both contestants believe that a slugger who has struggled mightily of late could potentially be a difference maker.
Doosan Bears' first baseman Oh Jae-il is coming into the Korean Series against the NC Dinos, which starts Tuesday, mired in an abysmal slump. He batted 2-for-9 with a home run in a two-game sweep of the LG Twins in the first round. And then Oh looked completely lost at the plate against the KT Wiz in the next round, batting 1-for-15 with six strikeouts. Oh was moved down from No. 3 to No. 8 in the lineup in clinching Game 4.
This is a spectacular and unexpected fall from grace for Oh, the 2019 Korean Series MVP. He was in fine form entering the postseason, as he batted .367 in October, the final month of the regular season. It was his best average in any month this year.
But Oh slumped so badly during the second round that his own manager Kim Tae-hyoung admitted he was worried about the player -- this coming from a skipper who often cracks jokes about struggling players to keep pressure off their shoulders.
At the Korean Series media day on Monday, Kim said Oh will once again have to be the catalyst in the heart of the order.
"If he bounces back and starts hitting again, I think it will create great synergy throughout our lineup," Kim said.
Kim's NC counterpart, Lee Dong-wook, also pointed to Oh as a player to watch in the Korean Series, his current slump notwithstanding.
"He's the one Doosan batter we're quite concerned about," Lee said. "He has always done well against us."
During the regular season, Oh batted .322 against the Dinos with two home runs, four doubles and nine RBIs in 15 games. In the two teams' previous postseason meeting, during the second round in 2017, Oh destroyed the Dinos' pitching with five home runs and 12 RBIs in four games. He batted 9-for-15 with five walks in that series.
Oh is one of a handful of left-handed batters in a typical Bears lineup. Doosan manager Kim said he was wary of the Dinos' left-handed pitching in the series, but he likely wasn't thinking of his club's strong regular season numbers against southpaws.
The Bears led all teams with a .310 batting average against left-handed pitchers in the regular season. They also had the most at-bats against lefties with 1,218 and produced the most RBIs with 197.
The Bears batted .297 against the Dinos, the best average by any team against them this season.
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