'No. 1 batting average and OPS' KBO batting first, neither LG nor Samsung! "The Power Master" KT has changed a lot... break up unfavorable schedules

*This content was translated by AI.

KT Wiz, which was called the pitcher kingdom, succeeded in improving its constitution with a "power wizard (power + wizard)."

KT won 14-11 against the Hanwha Eagles in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season visit game held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 1st.

KT, which secured the Winning Series against Hanwha, won its opening four games in a row and ranked first as the only undefeated team. It is surprising that the opponent for four consecutive wins is the LG Twins and Hanwha, the teams that advanced to the Korean Series last year.

This year, KT received unfavorable schedules from the start of the opening, meeting last year's winner LG, runner-up Hanwha, and the favorite Samsung Lions in turn. However, contrary to expectations, it is causing a stir by breaking down the candidates one after another.

Unlike in previous years, the process of rising to first place with firepower, not a solid mound, is also a peculiarity. Until now, KT was considered a team of pitchers. KT, led by KBO pitcher legend Lee Kang-chul (60), had excellent pitching staff and stable defense as team colors.

However, starting with the appearance of "KT+Gorilla" Ahn Hyun-min (23) last year, he tried to improve his constitution by reinforcing it extensively throughout the winter. Starting with catching catcher Han Seung-taek (32) at 1 billion won for four years, Kim Hyun-soo (38) was guaranteed for three years and 5 billion won, and Choi Won-joon (29) was brought in for up to 4.8 billion won for four years and spent 10.8 billion won on recruiting outside FA alone.

A foreign hitter also brought Sam Hilliard (33), who has 44 home runs in the Major League, who has strong slugging power. Charlie Blackman, a senior team member during his time with the Colorado Rockies, told the Denver Post in a 2022 interview, "Power and speed are the most attractive players. He was even praised for being the most powerful player in our team.

Compared to last year's opening game, KT has undergone the sharpest change since 2019 to the extent that eight starting lineups, excluding third baseman Huh Kyung-min, have changed. The new KT has been transformed into a team of firepower. At the end of the four games, KT ranks first in the KBO League team batting average (0.350 batting average) and first in the on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) (0.982). KT, not LG or Samsung, which were mentioned as the strongest batters in the league, also made the first hit in the 2026 season.

In the opening game, he scored six points in the first inning against LG's first starter Yoni Chirinos, and also wrote the true record that only six KBO teams played. According to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the OB Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on April 4, 1987, Samsung at Daegu Civic Baseball Stadium on April 10, 1993, Hanwha at Gwangju Mudeung Baseball Stadium on April 2, 2005, Samsung at Daegu Civic Baseball Stadium on March 28, 2015, and KT in 2026 were the sixth hits since LG at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on March 23, 2024.

Continuing that momentum, he ruthlessly beat Hanwha's mound on the same day as well. It is also encouraging that transfer students were at the center of it. Choi Won-joon, who started as a leadoff, constantly set the table with three hits, one walk, five RBIs and three runs from five times at bat, and four Hilliard balanced from the center with two hits and one RBI from five times at bat.

The existing players who were stimulated by this also showed off their presence. Even though Ahn Hyun-min started with a 0B2S unfavorable ball count against Ryu Hyun-jin in the top of the first inning, he hit the eighth ball out of the center fence after going to the full count. It was a magic wanderer that marked the beginning of the slugfest. Oh Yoon-seok, who started for the first time, proved his KT depth, which became stronger by playing the fourth base game with three hits, one RBI, one walk, and three points in four at-bats.

The highlight was Kim Hyun-soo, who had three hits and four RBIs in six times at bat. He proved why he was the MVP of the Korean Series last year with his excellent clutch ability. Kim Hyun-soo hit a changeup in the fifth pitch against Kim Do-bin with two outs in the top of the ninth inning when the two teams were tight at 11-11, scoring three RBIs with a timely double on the right field. It was the moment when KT overcame a slugfest in which both teams exchanged a total of 28 hits and rose to the first situation of KBO league hitting (a word referring to when they are first with overwhelming performance).

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*This content was translated by AI.