The ‘shortstop and leadoff’ Samsung dynasty prince returns to his shiniest days at KT
The prince of the 21st century’s most dominant team is back on his feet, in a new uniform, in a new place. Given the way he looked in recent seasons and his age, the rebound might not have been easy, but he proved his worth in his first year of free agency. Kim Sang-soo, 33, is a veteran infielder who is enjoying his second prime with KT.
He’s back to where he shined during the Samsung dynasty. He plays shortstop and leadoff just as he did when the team won four consecutive pennants from 2011 to 2014, and he still has the speed to drive in runs.
Kim went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, including his first home run of the season, against LG in Jamsil on Friday. He led off the four-run third inning with a single to left field, slid home from third base when Alford’s pitch was hit in front of the first baseman, and drove in his first run of the season with a two-run shot over the left field fence in the top of the eighth.
0.305 batting average and 0.386 on-base percentage on the season. Shortstop vacancy due to Shim Woo-jun’s enlistment. Kim Sang-soo is filling the leadoff void left by Choi Soo-ho’s slump. Initially, Kim was expected to hold down the middle of the infield as a defensive shortstop, but now he has become a key part of the team’s offense. The Samsung dynasty prince is a seasoned veteran for KT.
As he wraps up the first half of his first season with his new team, Kim says, “First of all, the team’s performance seems to have improved from the beginning of the season, so that’s the best feeling. As for my individual performance, I honestly didn’t expect to do this well. Of course, I wanted to do well, but I didn’t expect this much. I think it’s thanks to the coach’s consideration.”
It also meant a lot to him to continue playing shortstop. “I’ve been playing shortstop since I was a kid. I received my professional designation because I was a shortstop. The shortstop position is very important to me. It’s a position that always gives me good synergy and gives me confidence. It feels really good to be able to play shortstop consistently again like this,” he smiled again.
Playing with veterans who are older than him at KT is motivating, he said. “I don’t feel like the youngest in the infield. Even my older brothers work really hard. They’ve all been playing baseball for a long time, and I want to be as good as them, if not better,” he said.바카라사이트
Finally, Kim Sang-soo said, “We had a bad start to the season, and my teammates told me that our team is always bad in the beginning, but this year, even in the beginning, we were so bad that I thought we were in trouble. But fortunately, we are rebounding like this. I think KT’s strength is its pitching. The pitching staff has stabilized, and basically the pitchers make the game fast. They get help from their defense. It’s a team that can continue to ride the wave,” he said, confident in his new team.
