Doosan Bears batsman Jung Soo-bin reached the milestone and led his team to victory. He extended his hitting streak to six games and continued his good hitting form in the second half.
Starting at first base and playing center field in the 13th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Hanwha Eagles at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, South Korea, Jung went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs, two runs scored, and a walk to help Doosan to an 11-4 victory.
Jung came out swinging from the first at-bat of the day. He led off the first inning with a clean single up the middle and advanced to second on a walk to Kim Jae-ho. Then, with runners on second and third, Kim Jae-hwan singled to right field and slid home to give Doosan the lead. Hanwha requested a video replay, but Jeong Soo-bin’s hand touched home plate first.
Jeong’s performance continued. In the top of the fifth inning, with Doosan leading 8-1, he hit a three-run triple to right-center field with one out to make the score 9-1. It was the 80th triple of his career, making him the second player in KBO history to hit 80 triples.
The 80th career triple is a milestone that hasn’t been reached in the past 22 years since the KBO’s inception in 1982, when current Lotte Giants coach Jeon Jun-ho hit one in 2001 while with the Hyundai Unicorns (disbanded). With Jeon’s 100 career triples under his belt, it’s a natural next step for Jeong to reach 100 triples.
Since hitting six triples in 2008, his first year as a professional, Jung has hit at least four triples every year except for the 2016 season and the 2018 season, when he joined the team late in the season after serving in the military. Eight triples in the 2011, 2013 and 2020 seasons are his career high.
With 49 games left in the season, Doosan has plenty of time to set a new career high. The KBO’s single-season record for triples is 17, set by Seo Gun-chang (LG) in 2014 while playing for Kiwoom.토토사이트
Jeong Soo-bin later drew a walk in his fourth at-bat in the top of the sixth inning before being replaced by Cho Su-hyung to start the bottom of the inning and finish the game. He was batting .302 (16-for-53) in his last 14 games before today’s game, and his third straight multi-hit game raised his season average to .284 (97-for-343).