Aggressive approach paying off for hot-swinging outfielder

Aggressive approach paying off for hot-swinging outfielder: Baseball / 유지호 / 2023-05-30 22:35:31

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▲ Hong Chang-ki of the LG Twins hits a two-run single against the Lotte Giants during the bottom of the fifth inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on May 30, 2023. (Yonhap)

▲ Hong Chang-ki of the LG Twins celebrates his two-run single against the Lotte Giants during the bottom of the fifth inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on May 30, 2023. (Yonhap)

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Aggressive approach paying off for hot-swinging outfielder

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- A year after losing his aggressive edge at the plate, LG Twins outfielder Hong Chang-ki feels like he's back to being himself in 2023 -- swinging early in the count and putting a ton of balls in play.

Hong's attacking mindset paid off Tuesday, as he helped the Twins beat their rivals the Lotte Giants 3-1 at home with a tiebreaking two-run single in the fifth inning.

Hong went 3-for-4 for his ninth multihit game of the month. He is batting a robust .378 this month and .326 for the season.

"I think going after pitches early in the count is working in my favor," Hong told reporters at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. "I am trying not to worry too much about the outcome and just go up there and swing."

The 29-year-old is in the midst of a nice bounceback campaign. He broke out in 2021 by batting a career-high .328 and leading the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) with a .456 on-base percentage.

Those numbers tumbled to .286 and .390 last year. And Hong attributed the down year to being too passive at the plate.

"I think I was too careful at times, and I took way too many pitches," he said. "My confidence took a beating, and I started having too many thoughts. This year, I decided to be more aggressive."

One other key to Hong's success has been staying the course and not tinkering too much with his mechanics. After starting the season batting a solid but not spectacular .284 in April, Hong said he kept his faith in his ability to regain his stroke.

"Last month, I had a lot of hard-hit balls that went straight to fielders but I stuck to it and kept grinding," Hong said. "Last year, I tried different things on my own, hoping to break out of slumps. That didn't really work and things kind of spiraled from there. It's been a different story this year."

Hong earned his first career Golden Glove in 2021 on the back of those gaudy numbers. If he keeps up his current pace, Hong will be a strong candidate to nab another Golden Glove this year.

"Things went so well that year, and I honestly don't even know how I put up those numbers," Hong said. "It's hard to compare that season to now. I am probably not at that level, but I think I am still playing pretty well."

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