KIA's sole 'winner' Dale → batting average of 0.324 after the opening of the game is super awesome! The head coach also praised, "Thankful player, 'really' trying to go out somehow is the best."

*This content was translated by AI.

KIA Tigers' bold "single player" is showing signs of a big hit from the beginning. KIA's choice of fielders rather than pitchers as the only Asian quarter among the 10 clubs, infielder Gerid Dale (26), is the main character. Having been sluggish with a batting average of 0.129 (4 hits in 31 at-bats) in the previous exhibition game, he is playing a huge role in hitting hits in all regular league games since the opening.

KIA Tigers manager Lee Bum-ho (45) met with reporters after the scheduled home game against the Samsung Lions at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field was canceled in rain on the 9th and paid tribute to Dale.

Asked about Dale's performance, head coach Lee Bum-ho said, "He's a very grateful player," and smiled happily, "Dale holds the bat really short and tries to go out somehow (for the bases), and it's impressive to see him hit."

Coach Lee then added, "I think this kind of appearance should come out quickly even among our team's domestic players." "If you look at the fact that you're thinking about whether to hold the bat short or hit it, the concentration on the game is very high. The more you adapt to the league, the better you will be able to show your baseball of color," he said.

In fact, Dale has been performing better than expected in both offense and defense so far. In all nine regular league games played by KIA, he has a batting average of 0.324 (11 hits in 34 at-bats, 3 doubles) with three RBIs, hitting the infield and showing good performance. The on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), an indicator of offensive productivity, is also excellent at 0.807 and the scoring batting average is good at 0.300. With five strikeouts and four walks, his pioneering skills are not bad. Coach Lee Bum-ho expressed satisfaction, saying, "This is the best, but I think I'm doing well enough even if I do a little less than now."

Ahead of this season, KIA invested a total of 150,000 dollars (about 222 million won) to recruit Dale. With the exception of KIA, all nine clubs have recruited pitchers in the Asian quarter, only KIA has made a different choice. In particular, it is encouraging that it is completely filling the vacancy of shortstop Park Chan-ho (31), who left the team under a free agent contract.

Dale's performance is a positive stimulus to KIA as a whole, beyond just his individual performance. If the "desperation" and "high concentration" mentioned by head coach Lee Bum-ho are delivered directly to the players in the team, positive synergy is expected. Fans are paying keen attention to how far Da-il will be able to fly this season, as he quickly melted into the KBO league, which is unfamiliar to him.

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*This content was translated by AI.