'When he hits, it's home run after home run after home run after home run!' A historic first for the KBO! KIA's 73 million won short-term part-timer, will he chase away the 1.5 billion won MLB foreign investor?

*This content was translated by AI.

'When he hits, it's a home run' was no ordinary claim. KIA Tigers foreign hitter Adellin Rodriguez (35) etched his name in history just four days after joining the KBO League.

On the 8th, at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium, in a road game against the Lotte Giants in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season, Rodriguez started as the fifth hitter and designated hitter, going 1-for-5 with one home run, three RBIs, and one run scored, leading KIA to an 8-2 victory.

After remaining silent in the previous at-bats with a third-base grounder, a first-base fly ball, a shortstop fly ball, and a shortstop grounder, he made his presence felt in his final at-bat of the ninth inning.

Entering the batter's box in the top of the ninth with no outs and a runner on first, Rodriguez faced Japanese Asia quota player Masaya Koyama. After carefully selecting all pitches clocked at a top speed of 151 km/h, Rodriguez launched the fifth pitch, a low-falling fastball. The moment he made contact, it was unmistakably a home run—a 135-meter two-run shot to center field.

This marked Rodriguez's fourth hit and fourth home run, a first in KBO League history. According to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the previous record stood at three. Prior to this, in 1999, Trace Sanders (Haitai Tigers), in 2000, Tom Quinnlan (Hyundai Unicorns), in 2001, Manny Martinez (Samsung Lions), and in 2025, Lee Yul-ye, all connected on their first three hits as home runs after their debuts.

Rodriguez hit his first home run against Kang Geon-woo in his KBO debut game on the 5th against the Gwangju Hanwha Eagles. On the 6th, at the same venue, he hit back-to-back home runs against Ryu Hyun-jin and Jack Cushing, making this his fourth.

Rodriguez joined KIA on the 4th as a replacement foreign player for Harold Castro (33), who recently left due to a hamstring injury. He signed a six-week contract with an annual salary of 50,000 dollars. With a career minor league total of 215 home runs and a slugging percentage of 0.476, his power-hitting ability is attractive. Having also gained experience in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), he appeared to be an ideal fit for a short-term contract.

He has delivered exactly as expected. With a batting average of 0.222 (4-for-18) and an on-base percentage of 0.263 over four games, his plate discipline is not strong. However, as shown by his 0.889 slugging percentage, his consistent power hits soothed KIA fans who had been longing for extra-base hits. While Castro needed 93 at-bats to record two home runs, Rodriguez surpassed that total in just nine at-bats.

Due to his clear impact, some are already questioning whether Rodriguez, merely a short-term part-timer, is already chasing Castro out. Castro is a major leaguer whom KIA signed this year for 1 million dollars (approximately 1.5 billion won). Having played 450 career major league games across all positions, Castro cannot be compared to Rodriguez, who has not even reached the threshold of the big leagues based on his resume alone.

However, in the KBO League, there is nothing Rodriguez cannot do. Castro has posted a performance that does not suit a foreign hitter: a 0.250 batting average (22-for-88) over 23 games, with two home runs, 16 RBIs, four walks, 22 strikeouts, a 0.280 on-base percentage, a 0.420 slugging percentage, and a 0.700 OPS. His batting average with runners in scoring position is also low at 0.231, lacking even the necessary impact.

With Rodriguez showing tremendous activity since his debut week, attention is now focused on whether he can write a turnaround story over the remaining five weeks.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.