It is darkest before dawn.
This was the case last week for LG’s starting third baseman Moon Bo-gyeong (23). Since July, the batting has been on a downward curve, and the defense has also been shaken. On the 26th of last month, in the match against KT in Suwon, he made a mistake that led to a loss in the 12th overtime. After losing in overtime, the team fell into a five-game losing streak that it hadn’t had in the past two years.
Biggest crisis ever.꽁머니지급 But from the next day, it came to life terribly. He hit a home run by attacking the opposing foreign starting pitcher’s main weapon, and then rebounded throughout the offense and defense. Starting with a two-run four against KT in Suwon on the 27th of last month, and ending with a match against Kiwoom in Jamsil on the 1st of last month, he made long hits in 5 consecutive games. He hit 3 home runs and 2 doubles in 5 games, and the defense also tightened up again.
During this period, Moon Bo-kyung flew 9 hits in 23 at-bats (batting average 0.391) with an OPS of 1.287. 1st place LG also ran 5 consecutive wins after 5 consecutive losses, widening the gap with 2nd place SSG by 3.5 games, which was a difference of 0.5 games. In the match against Kiwoom in Jamsil, where they won 5 consecutive victories, Moon Bo-gyeong’s come-from-behind two-run four became the final blow. He handled all the balls that were headed for him and was lucky in the 8th inning. The following is a Q&A with Moon Bo-kyung and reporters after the game on the 1st.
-Consistently long hits are coming out. In particular, all three of your recent home runs came from breaking balls. Is there any secret?
Overall, it fits well from the front. Wrist strength is also entering well. The feel is good and the balance is good. That’s why it seems that even with the breaking ball, his posture didn’t break down and he stayed until the end and hit (the home run).
-You had a really difficult game last Wednesday when you were on a five-game losing streak. But the next day, the batting order went up one more in the starting lineup. What kind of mindset did you play at that time?
It was a game I lost because I made a mistake, and I thought about why I made a mistake, but I thought it shouldn’t interfere with the game the next day. Above all, my brothers helped me a lot. (Hong) Chang-gi hyung joked with me before the game, so I was able to focus again on baseball without being intimidated. After that, I made up for it to some extent, and now I am playing baseball comfortably.
– Normally, if you make a mistake like that in defense, you might think that you don’t want to go out the next day. Did you ever wish you were left out of the lineup for the day?
I had no such thoughts. Above all, the director trusts me, and I thought I should repay that trust. I just thought that in the end I had to do well.
-Today’s defense in the 8th was also amazing. I was able to catch the missed ball as it hit my knee and bounced back.
First of all, (Park) Dong-won hyung and the call overlapped. I couldn’t hear each other’s call, and I tried to catch it, but the glove palm part got hit. As I was hit, I stretched my arms upward and saw the ball in front of me again. So I caught the ball right away.
– You got hit on the knee, didn’t you feel it?
I didn’t feel it at all. I just suddenly saw the ball again in front of my eyes, so I caught it again.
-5 straight wins after 5 straight losses. It seems that the burden at the time of 5 consecutive losses has been relieved now.
Whether it’s a losing streak or a winning streak, the atmosphere is always the same. When I lost 5 times in a row, the players said to win twice, and that is leading to a good atmosphere again. Thanks to all the hyungs’ kind words, I was able to overcome the losing streak.
– Choi Won-tae is new. How was it when you faced Choi Won-tae as a pitcher for the opposing team before?
He was a very tough pitcher, a difficult pitcher. He threw a two-seam, a cutter, a changeup, and threw a lot of difficult pitches. As far as I remember, I missed a few hits. Now that we are on the same team, it is very reassuring.
-From the past, there were many cases where the batting and defense went well and went at a good pace. Do hitting and defense affect each other?
Once I have a good defense, I feel at ease. There is a cycle in hitting, but a mistake in defense can cause a lot of trouble to the team. So there are times when I feel sorry and anxious when things go wrong in defense. On the other hand, when the defense is good, I feel comfortable and I feel comfortable at bat.
– It’s very hot. It’s the hardest time to play baseball. Coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop said that Moon Bo-kyung is a player who wants to play in all 144 games at LG, just like Oh Ji-hwan, Park Hae-min, and Kim Hyun-soo. Do you have the confidence to keep going in this heat? (Moon Bo-kyung is digesting all the games the team has played this season. He started in 86 of the total 89 games.) He is confident
. He is still young, so he will recover quickly. It is an honor in itself to play all 144 games. There are players who want to go out but can’t go out, but I want to go out as much as possible. I think it helps myself too. I want to play as much as I can. The goal is to go through the season without getting sick until the end.
-It seems to be ‘mental power’. Can I say that I became stronger after overcoming the pain last week?
Are you mental? I think there are things that have gotten stronger as the past week has passed.