As a founding member of KT Wiz, infielder Moon Sang-cheol (32) has just celebrated his 10th year as a pro. He’ll have to watch a bit more, but his standout performance is energizing the team’s lineup.
Sang-Cheol Moon is showing the best hitting feeling in the team’s batting line recently. In May, he led the offense with a batting average of 0.432 (16 hits in 37 at-bats), 2 homers, 6 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 1.150. On the 13th, against the Lotte Giants in Suwon, he hit a walk-off home run to end the team’s 6-game losing streak.
kt is currently facing a crisis. With injuries continuing to rise, they are at the bottom of the league with a record of 9 wins, 2 draws and 22 losses. A number of key players have been left out of the lineup, and Park Byeong-ho (37), the main gun in the first team entry, is not in 100% physical condition due to a left hamstring injury. Since he is only playing as a pinch hitter, Moon Sang-cheol’s performance, which fills the void, is a great boost to kt’s other lineup.
KT coach Lee Kang-cheol mentioned Moon Sang-cheol ahead of the Lotte match in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at Suwon kt Wiz Park on the 14th. “It’s hard to be the starting player, but if you jump to the starting position, you’re guaranteed (at-bat). Then you can afford it. (Moon) Sang-cheol joins (the lineup) every year when (Park) Byeong-ho or (Kang) Baek-ho are sick. If you try to come up, the main players will come back. It seems that the process has been repeated for 2 years. The downside is the defense, but I think I will have to keep going for now.”
▲ Moon Sang-cheol is currently leading the kt Wiz batting line. ⓒkt Wiz
Moon Sang-cheol joined kt with the 11th overall pick in the 2nd special selection of the 2014 KBO League Rookie Draft. He is a one-club man who only plays for kt as a founding member. However, he spent more time in the Futures League than in the first team. He has a career batting average of 0.300 (544 hits in 1813 bats), 123 homers and 426 RBIs in his Futures League career. He became the top hitter in the Futures, including the unofficial home run king of the Futures League (2nd place Pyeong-ho Cho -118) as well as the RBI king of the Southern League in 2017.
But when he came to the first team, he couldn’t prove the skills he showed at Futures. He was continuing his professional life as a ‘1.5 group’ player. It was a sore finger in many ways at kt.
The year 2023 was important to Moon Sang-cheol. For the first time since his debut, he held spring camp with the Futures team. A situation that can be quite humiliating for a veteran. He was more determined and chose to break through head-on, focusing on what he could do well, such as wearing a first baseman’s mitt again instead of an outfield glove.토스카지노
As of now, it is successful. According to the baseball statistics site, Statties, among the hitters who made more than 30 at-bats in May, only one Park Chan-ho (28, KIA Tigers/batting average 0.444) had a higher batting average than Moon Sang-cheol. Looking at the long hit, which is an advantage, the home run is tied for third place, and the OPS is third in the league after Noh Si-hwan (23, Hanwha Eagles/OPS 1.405) and Park Dong-won (33, LG Twins/OPS 1.340). In May, not only the team but also the entire league is recording remarkable results.
Moon Sang-cheol is having a splendid season with the most outstanding results since his debut. Will he be able to blossom his skills this year?