There was no FA fixer like this! Kang Baek-ho will challenge for the first time in KBO as 'the RBI king in the first year of his transfer.'

*This content was translated by AI.

Has there been such a fixer in the first year of the FA (Free Agent) transfer.

Kang Baek-ho (27) of the Hanwha Eagles is swinging a fierce bat as soon as he changes his uniform. Beyond being a "genius hitter," it is becoming an " RBI machine" that does its part at a critical moment.

Kang Baek-ho started as the fifth designated hitter in an away game against SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 8th, and scored a three-run home run from opponent starter Choi Min-joon with two outs and runners on second and third in the top of the third inning when his team led 1-0. It was a large arch with a distance of 130 meters over the central fence. It was a perfect shot of nutrition that Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon (68) said after winning 4-3 on the day, "I want to praise Kang Baek-ho for shooting a three-run home run."

It was intense from the start of the season. Kang Baek-ho made a hot reporting ceremony for his home fans by hitting a walk-off hit with two outs and second base in the bottom of the 11th inning when he faced the Kiwoom Heroes 9-9 on March 28, the opening game. The next day, on the 29th, he swept two hits and five RBIs, including his first home run of the season.

As of the 9th, Kang Baek-ho is the lone top scorer in the category with 15 RBIs in 10 games of the season. With three home runs, he is tied for third after Eredia (SSG) and Choi Hyung-woo (Samsung, four) and fifth with a batting average of 0.538.

No batter has won the RBI title in the first year of the FA transfer in the KBO League. Since the implementation of the system in 2000, only two players have won the top three batting titles (batting rate, home run, and RBI) since the first season when they moved to the FA. Yang Eui-ji (Doosan NC) ranked first in batting average (0.354) in 2019, and Park Byung-ho (Kiwoom - KT) ranked first in home runs (35) in 2022.

In the RBI category, Shim Jung-soo (then Samsung) in 2007 and Yang Eui-ji (then NC) in 2021 won the title in the third year of the transfer. Kang Baek-ho will challenge for the first time in the KBO this year to become the first RBI king in the first year of the FA transfer.

Kang Baek-ho, who won the Rookie of the Year award with 29 home runs in 2018 when he made his debut with KT Wiz, moved to Hanwha for up to 10 billion won for four years after last season. In the eight years to last year, the number of RBIs in a single season was 102, which was recorded in 2021. In that year, he ranked second in RBIs and hits (179), respectively, but has yet to win an individual title.

After the SSG match on the 8th, Kang Baek-ho said, "I'm more happy with Moon Dong-ju's first victory than my home run," and added, "There are many good hitters in front of me." "I think fall baseball is definitely possible if we steadily maintain this balance and fill the gaps," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.