‘Trade transfer student’ Kang Jin-seong (SSG Landers)’s sense of hitting is coming up at the end of the first half.
Kang Jin-seong played as first baseman in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League confrontation with the Hanwha Eagles held at Hanwha Life Insurance Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 8th and scored 1 run with 1 hit in 3 at-bats.
Kang Jin-seong came out as the lead batter in the top of the second inning and withdrew with a fly ball to left field. However, he got a hit in his second at-bat. He reached base with a hit in front of right field after a full count match in the top of the 3rd inning with a 4-0 lead and no runners. Afterwards, Kim Seong-hyun hit, Kim Min-sik struck out, and Ahn Sang-hyun walked, making the bases two out. Choo Shin-soo, who came out at bat, hit a double at the right time with 3 RBIs, and all runners came home.
In the top of the 4th inning, Kang Jin-seong withdrew with a fly ball to center fielder. However, in the top of the 6th inning, he walked away with a hit ball and recorded a multi-on-base run. Afterwards, he was replaced with Oh Tae-gon before the defense in the bottom of the 8th inning and finished the game.
Kang Jin-seong moved from Doosan Bears to SSG through a trade on May 25th. SSG recruited Kang Jin-seong considering the fact that the balance between left-handed and right-handed hitters is not right. Before the transfer, he only played 3 at-bats at Doosan this season, but after moving to SSG, he appeared in 74 at-bats. And he’s showing signs of getting better.안전놀이터
Kang Jin-seong recorded a batting average of 0.250 and an OPS of 0.558 in May. In June, he improved with a batting average of .263 and an OPS of .764. He faltered for a while, going 0-for-7 in the last five games in June, going silent, but in early July, his hitting sense revived.
Kang Jin-seong scored 2 hits in 4 at bats against the Gocheok Kiwoom Heroes on the 1st. He also had multiple hits in the 2nd matchup and even hit his first triple all season. Since then, he has continued a streak of five consecutive hits, with one hit against Incheon KIA Tigers on the 5th, three hits against KIA on the 6th, and one against Hanwha on the 8th.
Kang Jin-seong recorded 9 hits, 3 RBIs, 3 runs, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 0.474 OPS and 1.208 in July. A good hitting feeling in early July raised his season batting average from 0.314 OPS to 0.840. There are 4 games left until the end of the first half. Attention is focusing on whether Jin-seong Kang can write a successful trade story by maintaining a good sense of hitting and showing a good figure until the second half.