"Today is not everything."
Kia Tigers outfielder Oh Seon-woo (29) awakened the dormant lineup. On the 13th, he led the team to an 11-5 victory by hitting a valuable go-ahead two-run homer against the SSG Landers at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field. His performance included 1 hit in 4 at-bats, 1 walk, 3 RBIs, and 1 run scored. The team broke a two-game losing streak and successfully avoided last place.
Last year, he had only 3 games and 7 plate appearances in the first team. Although he is in his seventh year, he was not included in the first team spring camp. He was also absent from the exhibition games in March. He silently gave his best in the second team, achieving an overwhelming performance of a .338 batting average, 4 home runs, 19 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.007 in 19 games in the Futures League. Recently, he recorded a batting average of .415 over the last 10 games.
He had produced enough performance to move up to the first team, but there was little news about him. It was because of his position. At first base, there were Patrick Wisdom and Byun Woo-hyuk, and there were no vacancies in the outfield. As collective slumps continued among first-team hitters, Manager Lee Beom-ho made a decision. He removed Kwak Do-kyu (elbow injury) along with Han Jun-soo and Choi Jung-yong and called up Kim Dae-yu and Han Seung-taek.
The manager immediately placed Oh Seon-woo in the second spot of the designated hitter lineup. "Seon-woo hit the best in the Futures," he noted, hoping he would energize the team's lineup. His first at-bat resulted in a groundout to first base, and his second at-bat ended in a deep flyout to right field. In a tightly contested game tied at 2-2 in the 5th inning with 2 outs and a runner on third base, he delivered a blast. He struck a 130-meter two-run homer off the SSG starter Moon Seung-won.
This home run revitalized the faltering lineup. It led to a big inning where they scored a total of 4 runs in the 6th inning. Oh Seon-woo also drew a walk. Not stopping there, he added an RBI with a groundout in the 8th inning with no outs and the bases loaded. Looking at the flow of the game, the lineup exploded starting from Oh Seon-woo's one hit. For the first time this season, all starting batters got hits, tying the record for the most runs scored in a game. It instantly alleviated the recent severe scoring drought.
After the game, he was named the player of the game and greeted the crowd. "I feel good because I helped the team win. I was called up at the right time when I was doing well in the Futures. I thought that if I continued to hit well in the Futures, I would eventually get a chance. That's why I focused even more on the game," he said.
He added, "During batting practice, I focused on setting the zone. I tried to distinguish between the pitches I could hit and those I couldn't, and aimed to hit the pitches I could hit well. Today's home run was the same, and I didn't think about the count or pitch type; I just focused on hitting what I could, which led to a good result. Today is not everything. If the opportunity comes to me, I will only pay attention to what I have prepared so far," he asserted.
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