Koo Ja-wook, "It was hard," and the heavy captain's heart..."You need to do well. You're not good enough yet"

Koo Ja-wook, "It was hard," and the heavy captain's heart..."You need to do well. You're not good enough yet"

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"It was a little hard."

Samsung Lions captain Koo Ja-wook started as the third batter and left fielder at a home game against the Lotte Giants in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Sunday. He played two hits (one homer) and three RBIs from four times at bat, contributing to his team's 10-3 complete victory.
Koo drew a walk with runners on the first and second bases with no outs in the bottom of the first inning, and loaded the bases with no outs. Samsung made it 2-0 in the first inning with Park Byung-ho's sacrifice fly and Lee Chang-yong's timely double.

Leading hitter Kim Young-woong hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning, and Kim Sung-yoon hit a timely RBI single to make it 4-0. Koo hit Lotte starter Kim Jin-wook's first pitch and 142 km/h fastball with runners on the first and third bases with one out, and hit a three-run homer with a flying distance of 115 meters. He instantly widened the score to 7-0, driving the momentum of the game.

With one out and no runners on base in the bottom of the fourth inning with the score tied 8-3, Koo produced a double to the left. He scored on Park's two-run homerun. Koo took the lead as the leadoff batter in the bottom of the eighth inning and stepped on the first base due to the opponent's first baseman Na Seung-yeop's throwing error. He finished the game on the fourth base.

Koo Ja-wook, whom we met after the victory, said, "The first run came out first, and (Kim) Young-woong hit a good home run in front of us in the second inning to give us the necessary score, changing the mood. Thanks to this, we were able to play comfortably."

The Dong-A Ilbo asked about the situation of the home run. "Since we started practicing before the game, we have practiced hitting the body with data on Kim Jin-wook. I think that's why we had good results," Koo said. "Coach Lee Jin-young threw a lot of batting balls in Kim Jin-wook's style. It seems to have helped us a lot to get hit. He made us feel comfortable even before we entered the batter's box." 스포츠토토

Koo has been struggling due to poor batting performance in recent months. He played in 20 games of the season until last Wednesday, posting a batting average of 0.195 (15 hits in 77 at-bats), four homers and 14 RBIs, and 0.683 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). He started the rebound from the game against the LG Twins on last Thursday. He started the game by posting two hits in four at-bats on that day. He then showed two hits in three at-bats against the Lotte Giants on Wednesday. In the game against the Lotte Giants, he even fired cannons, sending fans wild.

Looking back on the slump, Koo Ja-wook said, "I didn't want to be stressed out too much. "I always played with gratitude to be able to participate in the game," he said. "I still have a long way to go before rebounding. Actually, I don't really value my personal performance."

"My role is to create an atmosphere and increase morale so that the players can win the game somehow, but I've been sluggish in recent games," he said, adding, "I think I've been a little hard."

Koo said, "I'm getting a little bit of a blow, but I don't think I'm in perfect condition. However, I'm in a position to produce results. Whenever I play, I try to be more cautious and cool-headed."

Not only Koo but Samsung's batters have suffered overall in recent months. The team has also lost four consecutive games. Do you have any stories to share with the team as captain? "I asked them not to let the mood drop even if they lose. If they win, they can progress to a winning streak," Koo said. "I asked them to play harder for the players who are participating in the game, and to cheer for the players in the dugout."