KIA Tigers Ryu Ji-hyeok (29) expressed his will to make this year the best season.
Ryu Ji-hyeok is preparing for the 2023 season at the spring camp held at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, USA. Ryu Ji-hyeok, who confidently established himself as a starting player by passing the regulation plate for the first time since his debut last season, is likely to be the starting third baseman this season as well.
On the 7th (Korean time), Ryu Ji-hyeok, who completed the extra hitting training, said in an interview after training, “Right now, the feeling of hitting is not very important. It’s just whether what I’m doing right now is important. The direction seems to be going well. I am raising my pace and building my body according to the season,” he said about the training situation.
Ryu Ji-hyeok recorded a batting average of .274 (111 hits in 405 bats), 2 homers, 48 RBIs, and an OPS of .715 in 127 games last season. For the first time since his debut, he exceeded the regulation plate number and also broke the 100 hit mark. He had a career high season in many ways.
However, Ryu Ji-hyeok couldn’t hide his regret, saying, “I feel a lot of regret when I think of last season.” He said, “I could have hit better. He’s been bad once. At that time, he could have done much better if he hadn’t collapsed, but he didn’t. It is also my responsibility, but I think I need to think carefully about that time and prepare better.” Ryu Ji-hyeok showed great pace, exceeding the 30% batting average until May of last year, but in June, he recorded a batting average of 10.5% (10 hits in 65 at-bats) in 20 games, and he did not recover his pace at the beginning of the season until the second half.
Ryu Ji-hyeok, who said, “Now I played the first season full-time,” said, “Since I played a full season once, I think I got some averages. Now, I think I need to show performance that is not one level, but two or three levels higher, in order to compete 카지노. I am thinking and thinking about how I can do better in the future,” he said, burning his will to grow.
Regarding his goals for this season, Ryu Ji-hyeok said, “I want to increase my batting average and on-base percentage this year. I want to exceed the 30% batting average and 40% on-base percentage. I personally have a goal set, but I’m thinking about it step by step,” he said.
We are working hard to change the defense as well. Ryu Ji-hyeok said, “In this spring camp, we made a lot of changes in defense. I want to handle any batted ball easily to make the defense more stable. That’s why I’m talking a lot with coach Park Ki-nam, and I’m focusing on defense,” he said, revealing his aspirations to show a more stable defense.
KIA ranked 5th in the league last season and advanced to the wild card match, but fall baseball ended in one game. Ryu Ji-hyeok said, “All KIA players are working hard to get good results in fall baseball. I would be very grateful if you came to the baseball field and cheered with a loud voice.”