Korean Series contestants getting mixed results from cleanup hitters

All News 10:11 November 03, 2022

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- This is a tale of two cleanup hitters battling for the South Korean baseball title who couldn't be more different from each other, be it their physical build or their style of play.

On one hand, the SSG Landers employ Han Yoo-seom as their cleanup. He is the textbook cleanup hitter, at least by an old-school definition, a hulking slugger listed at 190 centimeters and 105 kilograms who mashes and strikes out a ton. The right fielder led his club with 100 RBIs and 33 doubles in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season, while ranking second with 21 home runs and third with a .478 slugging percentage.

Han Yoo-seom of the SSG Landers celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the Kiwoom Heroes during the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 2 of the Korean Series at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, 30 kilometers west of Seoul, on Nov. 2, 2022. (Yonhap)

In the opposite dugout for the Kiwoom Heroes is second baseman Kim Hye-seong, no one's definition of a cleanup hitter. He has 19 home runs in 689 career regular season games and carries a .380 career slugging percentage. Listed at 180 centimeters and 80 kilograms, Kim does have a strong .292 career batting average, aided by a personal-best mark of .318 this year, and has stolen at least 20 bags in each of the past five seasons.

Han, as team captain, helped the Landers to the best regular season record and a bye to the Korean Series. Kim and the Heroes, as the No. 3 seed, had to win two rounds in the postseason just to reach the Korean Series. While batting cleanup in nine games in those early phases, Kim batted 13-for-39 (.333) but, not surprisingly, not without a home run.

And two games into the Korean Series, with the clubs knotted at 1-1, Han and Kim have been going in opposite directions.

Han is 2-for-7 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-1 victory. He has driven in two runs, scored two runs and walked twice, boasting a .444 on-base percentage.

Kim Hye-seong of the Kiwoom Heroes reacts after striking out against the SSG Landers during the top of the eighth inning of Game 2 of the Korean Series at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, 30 kilometers west of Seoul, on Nov. 2, 2022. (Yonhap)

Han's seventh-inning blast extended the Landers' lead to 6-1, and manager Kim Won-hyong noted the significance of that shot.

"When I saw that ball leave the field, I turned to my coaches and said, 'We got this game,'" Kim said. "As captain and cleanup hitter, Yoo-seom has had a lot on his plate all year. But he has always kept his head down and done his job quietly.

Kim, however, is hitless in nine at-bats with two strikeouts. He has yet to make hard contact, either, grounding out twice in Game 1 on Tuesday and hitting two pop flies in Game 2 the next day.

Heroes manager Hong Won-ki has been using Kim in the cleanup spot the entire postseason, after Kim spent about half the regular season batting fifth. Hong prefers to keep his two best hitters, Lee Jung-hoo and Yasiel Puig, separated in the middle of the lineup, and rely on Kim's strong on-base skills in the middle.

Han Yoo-seom of the SSG Landers hits a solo home run against the Kiwoom Heroes during the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 2 of the Korean Series at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, 30 kilometers west of Seoul, on Nov. 2, 2022. (Yonhap)

It had worked well for the first nine postseason games, but all three have been held in check in the Korean Series. Lee is 2-for-9, and Puig is 2-for-8.

Asked if he would consider a lineup change, Hong said he would stick to his guns.

"Kim Hye-seong hasn't been the only player who has struggled; our entire team didn't hit well today," Hong said after Wednesday's loss. "As we prepared for the postseason, we felt the current lineup would give us the best offensive flow. I plan on keeping Kim Hye-seong in the cleanup spot."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
(END)