"I brought 4 gloves"" KIA foreigners are reliable! Even if Kim Do-young and Kim Sun-bin are absent, major leaguers will appear

*This content was translated by AI.

Harold Castro (33, KIA Tigers), the new foreign hitter of the Tiger Corps, had an intense initiation ceremony.

KIA lost 3-6 to the national team in a practice match against the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held at Kadena Baseball Stadium in Kadena, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on the 24th.

The batting lineup was tied to five hits on the strong national team mound. The defense was disappointing. KIA second baseman Yoon Do-hyun missed a ground ball with Kim Joo-won's bound big in the second inning with two outs and a runner on first base. The ensuing chance led to a clean-up of the national team, leading to a large number of runs.

Castro's powerful shot was a great comfort in a game that was not good overall. In his first at-bat with two outs and a runner on second base in the first inning, Castro hit national team starter Ko Young-pyo's third pitch wide of the right fence.

It was even more impressive because it was a home run that was rolled up after enduring Ko Young-pyo's change-up, which is called a change-up master, twice. There was an exclamation at the scene of the thunderous swing that seemed to still have power.

Castro, who met with reporters after the game, said, "It was a two-ball, so I thought a good ball would come in the third pitch. "I've never played a lot of sidearm balls, but I've had experience, which helped me," he said.

"I was impressed with both the pitcher and the batter. Both Tu and Ta felt that they were a very well-prepared team. He evaluated the Korean national team by saying, "It seemed to have a high degree of completion."

Castro is a foreign hitter who was newly hired by KIA in December last year. Castro's image in the Major League is an all-round utility player who can't play anywhere.

During the six seasons of the Major League, he played in all positions except catcher for 450 games. The most played was the second base in 1,125 ⅓ innings, and the least was the 89th inning of right field. Even as a catcher, he pitched in nine games with a 4.15 ERA.

He plans to play outfield for KIA. However, as the main position is able to play all positions with excellent athletic ability at second base, backup can be made at any time even if Kim Do-young, Na Sung-beom, and Kim Sun-bin are absent.

Castro said, "I brought a total of four gloves, including first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, and outfielder gloves. In the first camp, I trained only in the outfield, he said, but I am confident and like to play in all positions. I'm doing well without much difficulty," he said with strength.

A player who often takes a lot of gloves is a backup utility that does not have a certain position. However, Castro's weight is different because he can play in any position.

The home run off Ko Young-pyo was a testament to that class. According to the Kia club's explanation, Castro is a mid- to long-range player with sophisticated hitting capabilities. In fact, Castro proved his contact ability in the big leagues with a major league batting average of 0.278 (391 hits in 1406 times at bat).

On top of that, he hit 21 home runs in last year's Triple-A, even though it was not a batter-friendly league, and opened his eyes to long balls. An official from the KIA team said, "He has excellent contact ability and has excellent ability to solve clutch situations. He explained that he is expected to play a big role in the team's batting lineup as he has a long shot enough to hit 21 home runs in the minor league in 2025.

Castro responded, "Nothing has changed in particular. However, the way and experience he did in Triple-A last year helped a lot. I'm going to do that again this year," he said.

Despite unfamiliar circumstances, Kia is also gradually melting into the game. Castro said, "It's almost 100% physical. "I'm preparing for the season in a good mood and getting better with my first camp training experience," he said. "If you go to Gwangju, you will have a house and feel a little more stable. I'm trying to continue what I'm doing now during the season," he said with a smile.

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*This content was translated by AI.