'Is it real that he hit 9 home runs in September?' Heilried explodes with his 39th! Kim Do-young trails by just one... tied with Austin in both home runs and RBIs

*This content was translated by AI.

'There's no other word but crazy.' Sam Heilried (32, KT Wiz) has hit 9 home runs this September alone, threatening Kim Do-young (23, KIA Tigers) and Austin Dean (33, LG Twins).

On the 24th, Heilried started as the fourth hitter and center fielder in a regular-season match against NC Dinos at Suwon KT Wiz Park. In the bottom of the second inning, he launched a solo home run over the right-field wall off pitcher Song Myeong-gi.

At the moment of contact, it was a massive 135-meter arch that screamed home run. After watching three pitches from Song Myeong-gi, Heilried drove a high 147 km/h fastball into the gap. The ball soared cleanly over the right-field fence.

This was his 39th home run of the season. With this single blast, the race for both the home run title and RBI title began to shake up simultaneously. Heilried has now recorded RBIs in four consecutive games, reaching 122 RBIs and tying Austin for first place in that category. In home runs, he stands tied with Austin at 39, just one behind Kim Do-young, who leads the league with 40.

Just a short while ago, the home run race appeared to be a battle between Kim Do-young and Austin. On the 8th, Kim hit his 40th home run of the season in a match against Samsung Lions. However, after being called up to the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games representative team on the 14th, his home-run production temporarily halted.

In the meantime, Heilried surged forward with frightening speed. As of the end of games on the 23rd, Heilried recorded a .305 batting average (155 hits in 509 at-bats) across 129 games, along with 38 home runs, 121 RBIs, 103 runs scored, 9 stolen bases, a .373 on-base percentage, a .582 slugging percentage, and an OPS of 0.955.

Looking at the full-season statistics alone, Austin's performance stands out as the most dazzling. Across 131 games, Austin has posted a .342 batting average (169 hits in 494 at-bats), 39 home runs, 122 RBIs, 107 runs scored, a .436 on-base percentage, a .662 slugging percentage, and an OPS of 1.098. Kim Do-young also enjoyed an MVP-caliber season with a .310 batting average (140 hits in 451 at-bats) over 123 games, including 40 home runs, 102 RBIs, 106 runs scored, 10 stolen bases, a .414 on-base percentage, a .639 slugging percentage, and an OPS of 1.053.

However, if we isolate only their recent pace, Heilried is the most dangerous hitter. In his last 10 games through the 23rd, Heilried hit .375 (15 hits in 40 at-bats), with an incredible 5 home runs and 15 RBIs. After hitting a home run against Lotte on the 13th, he launched two home runs in a single game against Hanwha on the 15th, and exploded again against Doosan on the 19th with 4 hits in 5 at-bats, including one home run.

In the match against SSG Landers on the 22nd, he capped off his 38th home run with a bases-loaded blast that sealed the victory in the ninth inning. The day after was not just a rest day. On the 23rd against NC, he recorded 2 hits and 1 RBI in 4 at-bats, and on the 24th, he cleared the fence again from his first at-bat of the game.

Austin is no slouch either. In his last 10 games, he has maintained strong form with a .364 batting average (12 hits in 33 at-bats), 3 home runs, and 10 RBIs. His season OPS of 1.098 is the highest among the three players, and he also leads significantly in batting average.

Kim Do-young's momentum before joining the national team was equally impressive. In his final 10 games, he hit .406 (13 hits in 32 at-bats), with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs. On the 8th against Samsung, he finally reached the 40th-home-run milestone. Then on the 15th against Hanwha, he returned from a fractured nose sustained earlier and recorded 3 hits and 3 RBIs in 4 at-bats.

The only issue is that Heilried's home run pace has been excessively fast. Until April, he was batting just .232 and faced rumors of being benched, making his current turnaround even more astonishing. However, from May onward, his performance completely transformed: a .350 average in May, .318 in June, and .365 in July. In particular, during July, he hit 9 home runs with 26 RBIs and posted a .743 slugging percentage, earning him the monthly MVP award.

As the season nears its end, Heilried has become even more formidable. Since entering September, he has unleashed a barrage of home runs and is now just one step away from reaching the 40th-home-run plateau. His fearless swing that does not shy away from strikeouts has now become the hottest variable in the KBO League home run title race.

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*This content was translated by AI.