* Translated by Papago

"6G 1 hit → 0.520 batting average" Yum Liang, who caused Oh Ji-hwan, said, "Why don't you take me out, don't you believe me?" the effect of greater consideration than doubt

Published:

Ahn Hokeun

*This content was translated by AI.

LG Twins' Oh Ji-hwan (center) is being congratulated by his teammates after scoring against SSG Landers on the 12th. /Photo = Courtesy of LG Twins
LG Twins' Oh Ji-hwan (center) is being congratulated by his teammates after scoring against SSG Landers on the 12th. /Photo = Courtesy of LG Twins

As Oh Ji-hwan (36, LG Twins) revived, the team also gained a scary rise. The veteran, who only thinks about the team, expressed his desire to protect LG for more than 40 years.

Oh Ji-hwan started as the fifth batter shortstop in the home game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League against SSG Landers at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 12th and led his team to a 9-1 victory by swinging three hits and two runs from four times at bat.

Oh Ji-hwan, who had only one hit in six games at the beginning of the season, led the team's batting average of 0.520 (13 hits in 25 at-bats) in the next six games, while LG has won seven consecutive games and has maintained a joint lead with 9 wins and 4 losses.

Oh Ji-hwan, who wore the Twins uniform as the first designated player in 2009, is a franchise star who has been guarding LG for 18 seasons. He is considered the best shortstop in the league for his outstanding defense and a shot at a critical moment, but he has never had a better hitting sense than this season.

Even after starting the winning streak, the team continued to struggle within two points in all of the first four games, but the hit was revived around Oh Ji-hwan, and the batting line exploded 23 points in the last three games, and the batting line was revived to increase the winning streak by running the game with ease.

Oh Ji-hwan is hitting against SSG on the 12th. /Photo = Courtesy of LG Twins
Oh Ji-hwan is hitting against SSG on the 12th. /Photo = Courtesy of LG Twins

On the same day, Oh Ji-hwan had three hits in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, and LG was able to win early with two runs in the fourth inning and five runs in the fifth inning. Despite the ups and downs at the beginning of the season, his batting average has already risen to 0.333 (14 hits in 42 at-bats) and he has swept 12 RBIs with a terrifying batting average of 0.583. He is by far the number one RBI player in the team.

After the game, head coach Yeom Kyung-yeop praised Oh Ji-hwan's good contact play start at a time when additional points were needed, adding, "Oh Ji-hwan led the overall lineup with three hits."

Oh Ji-hwan said, "The team always comes first. "I'm glad I felt like I contributed to the victory," he said. "There were a lot of one or two points difference in the recent winning streak, and each time I did that, I think the players were well united with what they were trying to do. I think it was influential. "By reversing the game within one or two points and bringing the atmosphere, that feeling continues even when we play the next day," he said.

The pace is so good. He has been consistently the main player since he was a rookie, but his career high in batting was 0.300 (2020), and he has been leading the team's batting lineup with fierce batting from the beginning of this season.

Oh Ji-hwan found the secret to psychological stability rather than technical. "I've been watching the director for four years, but it wasn't good before. There was a suspicion that taking out one at-bat and one at-bat was "Why are you excluding me?" and there was also a thought that "you might not believe me." "When I talked with the coach before the season, I would do the same." "If it's bad, I'll save one at-bat and one at-bat when I'm in a better condition, so don't get me wrong," he said. "So even when I fell into the sixth inning, I readily acknowledged the badness and hoped (Lee) Jae-won would play well."

Oh Ji-hwan (center) is taking advantage of the opponent's error to dig into the home. /Photo = Courtesy of LG Twins
Oh Ji-hwan (center) is taking advantage of the opponent's error to dig into the home. /Photo = Courtesy of LG Twins

He continued, "So I felt comfortable. Since I lined up one at-bat and one at-bat, when other players said they were not good, I had more than 30 at-bats, but I only had 20 at-bats. So I thought it was possible to rebound at any time, but it worked. So I'm grateful to the director," he said.

If you enter the batter's box a lot in a sluggish situation, the figure will get worse and more time is needed to make up for it, but manager Yeom's consideration to rest when he is sluggish has enabled him to rebound faster.

He hit a double in the fourth inning, setting a record of 350 double hits for the 21st time in the KBO League history. But Oh Ji-hwan said, "I didn't have any feelings. "I don't think it means much to me yet because it's continuous," he said. "One of the things I'm greedy about is that I hope I can be remembered as the most played player at LG."

Players who are well over 40 are still active, including Choi Hyung-woo (43), Kang Min-ho (41, Samsung), and Noh Kyung-eun (42, SSG). Oh Ji-hwan also said, "If I stick to the shortstop, I think I can still play until the age of 41. "I think it would be good to play shortstop for a long time," he said, expressing confidence, "I don't think I'm behind yet."

After the 2019 season, he signed a contract for a disappointing amount of 4 billion won for four years, but he won the shortstop Golden Glove and the KBO Defense Award for the second consecutive year and signed up to 12.4 billion won for six years as a free agent. If you complete the rest of the year, you will be eligible for FA again ahead of the 40-year-old season.

When asked if he could sign a contract once more, he carefully expressed his desire to end his career as a "whole LG" by saying, "My heart wants to do that."

Oh Ji-hwan is interviewing reporters after winning the SSG match on the 12th. /Photo = Reporter Ahn Ho-geun
Oh Ji-hwan is interviewing reporters after winning the SSG match on the 12th. /Photo = Reporter Ahn Ho-geun

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*This content was translated by AI.

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