“The coach is right. I want to leave my name in the history of the KBO.”
One of the hitters Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop has been praising the most lately is leadoff and center fielder Jung Soo-bin. In 95 games this season, Jung is batting .286 (100-for-350) with one home run, 27 RBIs and 26 stolen bases.
His on-base percentage (.364) is nearly eight points higher than his slugging percentage, and his stolen base success rate (86.66%) is overflowing with productivity. The league’s top-ranked outfield defense has been a stalwart for Doosan’s pitching staff this year.
The bats have been even hotter in August. In 11 games, he’s batting .370 (17-for-46) with one home run, six RBIs, and seven doubles, helping Doosan stay in contention.
After hitting his first home run of the season against the Samsung Lions in Jamsil on the 8th of Autumn, Masu-geul said, “I have a lot of good memories in the fall, and I will try to live up to the fans’ expectations.”
“After my debut, my condition improved a lot around the fall every year, so I think the perception is that I am strong in the fall,” said Jung Soo-bin. “This year, my pace improved around the autumnal equinox, and I will try to maintain it until the end of the season,” he said.
“Every year, from the beginning of the season to May, I was not good, but I think I found my form after that and did my part,” he said, promising to help the team as it continues to fight for important positions.
Recently, he has also set a significant record. On April 11 against the Daejeon Hanwha Eagles, he hit his 80th career triple. Since the KBO’s inception in 1982, only Lotte Giants coach Jeon Jun-ho (100 career triples) had more than 80 career triples.
When asked about Soo-bin’s record the next day, Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop laughed and said, “You shouldn’t talk about career records unless you’re number one,” and then added, “I hope Soo-bin breaks the record for most triples.”
Jung Soo-bin agreed with his commander. Although he is not usually greedy when it comes to records, he has set a clear goal of hitting the most triples in his career.
Starting with six triples in 2008, his first year as a professional, Jung has produced at least four triples in every season he has played full-time except 2016. Eight triples in the 2011, 2013, and 2020 seasons are his career high. This season, he already has seven triples.
“The triple record means a lot to me,” said Jeong. I want to break Jun-ho Jeon’s record before I retire,” he said, adding, “I would be honored if I could leave my name in the history of KBO triples, as coach (Lee) Seung-yeop said.” 꽁머니
He also said, “I’m not a home run hitter, but a triple is really hard to hit. It’s just as exciting as a home run,” he said, adding, “I’m aiming to hit more than 100 triples in my career. I’m averaging about seven a year when I was playing full-time, so I think I can do it before I retire.”