▲ Preston Tucker of the Kia Tigers hits an RBI single against the Doosan Bears in the bottom of the third inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 9, 2021. (Yonhap)
▲ In this file photo from April 27, 2021, Roberto Ramos of the LG Twins rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Lotte Giants in the bottom of the third inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. (Yonhap)
▲ In this file photo from April 25, 2021, David Freitas of the Kiwoom Heroes watches a flyball to right field against the SSG Landers in the bottom of the sixth inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. (Yonhap)
▲ In this file photo from April 21, 2021, Ryon Healy of the Hanwha Eagles celebrates his RBI double against the Kiwoom Heroes in the bottom of the fifth inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

baseball-hitters

Struggling foreign hitters come through with home runs in KBO

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, May 10 (Yonhap) -- Kia Tigers' slugger Preston Tucker hit his first home run of the 2020 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season on May 7. This year, Tucker's first home run came on May 8.

The difference: Last year, it was the third game of the season, as the start was delayed by more than a month due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tucker went on to lead his club with 32 dingers. In 2021, with the season having started on time on April 3, Tucker went deep for the first time in his 28th game.

Tucker had two home runs that day for good measure, and though they came in an 11-5 loss to the Doosan Bears, those home runs lifted major weight off Tucker's shoulders.

After the first homer, Tucker looked the part, too. He got the silent treatment from his teammates in the dugout, and then was caught on camera shaking his head and muttering something, in apparent disbelief that it had taken him so long to get the first one out of the way.

Before the home runs, though, Tucker had shown signs of life. He was 9-for-18 with three doubles and a triple in four games before Saturday. He is now batting .483/.545/.862 in May -- compared to a .235/.299/.286 line from April.

Also on Saturday, Roberto Ramos of the LG Twins, another foreign hitter off to a sluggish start, delivered a big home run.

Ramos set a franchise record with 38 home runs in 2020 but had just three homers in 26 games before launching a three-run jack against the Hanwha Eagles.

Ramos will be hard pressed to match last year's total, though Twins' manager Ryu Ji-hyun said Ramos' early-season woes aren't for lack of trying.

Ryu said Friday that Ramos had been coming to the park 30 minutes ahead of his teammates to get some early work done in the indoor cage.

Ramos has mostly bat in the cleanup spot this year and has batted fifth in each of his last five games. While some teams have moved their foreign bats down the lineup when they were struggling -- most notably, the NC Dinos batted Aaron Altherr eighth most of last year and had great success -- Ryu said Ramos wasn't going anywhere.

"It could be devastating to a player's confidence if you move him down in the order during his slump," Ryu said. "We want to put him in a position where's he's comfortable. He'll stay in the middle of the order."

Such a vote of confidence from managers is rare for KBO's foreign hitters, who are usually kept on a short leash. At least Tucker and Ramos have a track record of success here that warranted patience from their skippers, and it appears as though it will be rewarded.

Kiwoom Heroes' first-year hitter, David Freitas, wasn't so lucky last Friday, when he was demoted to the Futures League, the KBO's minor league.

This is the same team that cut Taylor Motter after 10 games last year. Motter had it coming by batting just 4-for-35 with one home run, and the Heroes, expected to contend for the title in 2020, didn't want to wait to find out if Motter would turn it around.

Freitas has batted .253/.279/.354 with one home run and 12 RBIs in 26 games, not the type of production expected from the former major leaguer.

The Heroes got virtually nothing from their foreign position players last year, as Motter's midseason replacement, Addison Russell, put up a meager .254/.317/.336 line with two home runs and 31 RBIs in 65 games. And having lost their slugging All-Star shortstop Kim Ha-seong to the San Diego Padres in December, the Heroes desperately needed more from their lone import bat this year.

Freitas spent most of April batting fifth. He batted seventh once and eighth twice in May before getting sent down.

Demoted players must spend a minimum 10 days before they become eligible for a callup to the KBO, but the Heroes' manager Hong Won-ki said Freitas won't be automatically brought up once his 10 days are up.

Another first-year player, Ryon Healy of the Hanwha Eagles, is also scuffling at the plate. He has just one home run in 27 games, with 26 strikeouts against six walks. His .257/.301/.352 line doesn't scream middle-of-the-order threat, but Healy has made 97 of his 113 plate appearances as the Eagles' cleanup hitter.

Much like LG's Ryu, Hanwha manager Carlos Subero has preached patience. The first-year skipper said he won't move Healy down in the order because it won't change how opposing pitchers attack him.

Subero also said he hasn't noticed any issues with Healy's mental approach or bat speed.

Aside from the power outage, Healy is in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak, during which he has gone 8-for-29.

(END)

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