“I was more focused at the plate, which led to good results.”
Choo Shin-soo (SSG Landers) went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs as the designated hitter in the first game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Samsung Lions at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Wednesday.
Shin-soo Choo grounded out to the second baseman in his first at-bat, but he came out swinging in his second at-bat. He led off the third inning with a double to left-center field.
After warming up, Choo Shin-soo had a chance to score in his third at-bat. In the bottom of the fifth inning with a 2-0 lead, Oh Tae-gon led off with a single and stole second. Kim Min-sik laid down a sacrifice bunt to put runners on first and third, and Choo Shin-soo followed with a sacrifice fly.
It was a similar story in the fourth inning. With a 3-0 lead, Oh Tae-gon singled and then stole second base once again. Kim Min-sik then grounded out to third base to put runners on second and third, but Choo Shin-soo hit a single to center field to seal the game.
After the game, Choo Shin-soo said, “I come to the plate with the goal of getting on base every at-bat. Today, I had two chances. I was more focused at the plate and it paid off.” “There’s nothing special about it. I just want to do well in every game. In the second half of the season, the results seem to follow me a little bit, so I’m happy.”
When Shin-Soo Choo steps up to the plate, the opposing defense shifts to prevent balls that slip between first and second base. But lately, Shin-Soo Choo has been producing hits to left-center that are pushed through and out. In this game, he hit a double to left-center field.
“I’m always conscious of the shift, but it’s hard to hit it at will,” said Shin-soo Choo, “but I’m getting more hits as I’m hitting pitches to the left, so I want to use this as an opportunity to do well in the future.”먹튀검증
SSG has been in a downward spiral in the second half of the season. They are 9-9 in the second half with a 5.5 percent winning percentage. The gap with the first-place LG Twins has grown to six games. However, Choo believes that good things will come if the team believes in itself and not the other teams.
“Last year, our team had such a perfect season, so we might not be used to the recent trend. The important thing is to believe in ourselves,” he said. “This is a normal part of a long season. We’ve been playing well up to this point. We need to focus on winning today’s match instead of looking at the other teams, and I think we’ll have a good result.”