New foreign hitter Patrick Wisdom (34) of the KIA Tigers in professional baseball is quickly erasing the shadow of his predecessor Socrates Brito (33).
Kia has given up renewing its contract with outfielder Socrates, one of the leading players in last year's integrated championship. It added Wizdom, a total 88-homer powerhouse of the Major League, to the list of players withheld, but successfully acquired the upper limit of 1 million U.S. dollars for new foreign players and lifted the suspension on Socrates. Socrates was not a top-rated foreign hitter, but making bold changes was not an easy choice.
The decision was made possible because it was Wisdom. Wisdom's slugging capability, which hit 20 home runs for three consecutive years in the Major League with 28 home runs, 25 home runs, and 23 at the Chicago Cubs between 2021 and 2023, respectively, is expected to boost Kia's batting power. However, his batting average in the Major League fell to 299 li (274 hits from 1311 times at bat), and his age in his mid-30s amid sharp slump last year was another cause of concern.
Wisdom, which had a batting average of 222 in seven games (4 hits in 18 at-bats) with one home run, three RBIs, three walks, five strikeouts and a .333 slugging percentage of .444 OPS.777 in the exhibition game, started the opening two consecutive games against Gwangju NC with no hits in five at-bats on the 22nd and 23rd. However, after reporting his first home run with a two-run shot in the fourth inning against Kiwoom in Gwangju on the 25th, the third game, he also became the hero of the first home run in the opening of the new stadium with a solo shot in the seventh inning against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 28th.
Wisdom's cannonball continued in the match against Hanwha on Tuesday. In the first inning, he swung a fastball of 153 kilometers per hour, which was the second pitch from Hanwha starter Ryan Weiss, to well over the left fence. With a flying distance of 120 meters, he hit his third homer of this season. He hit homeruns in two consecutive games, fueling his instinct to hit long balls.
Wizdom had a batting average of .25 (four hits in 20 at-bats), two homers, six RBIs, nine walks and five strikeouts in the first seven games of the season, and a slugging percentage of .467 OPS of .750 OPS. While his batting average is low, he has garnered the most walks in the league, and his on-base percentage is more than 200 percent higher than his batting average of .209. When he was in the Major League, Wizdom had an on-base percentage of .291 compared to his overall batting average of .209. As much as he can overcome his power, he has good pioneering skills. 온라인카지노
He has garnered walks in all six of his first seven games. At the match against Hanwha on Sunday, he put up with five to six cutters and fork balls at the count of 1B-2S against Lee Tae-yang in the ninth inning, before getting a walk after a game of seven pitches. On the 29th, he also had two walks in the fourth inning against Hanwha, picking out a sweeper very slightly out of the zone outside Ryan Weiss and walking to first base.
Usually, big hitters need more time to adapt to the new league than contact-type hitters, but Wisdom, which has the advantage of being a pioneer, can drastically reduce that time. KIA manager Lee Bum-ho is also taking advantage of Wisdom by deploying forward not only in the fourth and fifth batting order but also in the second batting order.
"Wizdom seems to be getting used to it. He is a very good player in the Major League, and I think he will display his career in Korea as well as he continues to play games," Kia Tigers coach Lee Bum-ho said. "I am thinking about making small changes as I look at my physical condition on that day. I can go forward or in the middle," he said, leaving open various possibilities.
KIA was put on high alert as MVP third baseman Kim Do-young and Golden Glove shortstop Park Chan-ho were injured in succession from the first week of the season. Amid four consecutive losses, the team has had a rough start with two wins and five losses and tied for eighth place. However, Wisdom is accelerating its adaptation to the league, raising expectations. Coach Lee Bum-ho said, "If the injured players return at a time when Wizdom is adjusting, our team's ability will be sufficient from then on."