“I think it’s more of a technical issue than a psychological one.”
Oh Jae-il (37-Samsung Lions) is one of the KBO’s best slow starters. He’s always had a rough start to the season, but by the end of the season, he was hovering around the 20-homer mark.
This season, however, it’s too little, too late. He’s been hitting the occasional home run and RBI, but his .180 batting average (33-for-183) is shocking.먹튀검증
Samsung manager Park Jin-man, 47, has changed his attitude toward the key hitter. “I’ve been saying that psychological pressure is a problem, but now I think I need to make a change,” Park said before the game against the LG Twins at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Friday. “It’s been two months, three months. I need to make sure I’m ready once again. Leaving aside the (psychological) pressure, it’s now a technical problem. I think there should be a change,” he said.
Park had previously answered questions about Oh Jae-il by saying, “He will survive” and “There seems to be psychological pressure.”
Samsung head coach Park Jin-man. /Photo=Samsung Lions
Park’s patience with Oh Jae-il has run out, as he said, “Mistakes and errors can happen in the game,” when asked about the crucial error that cost him the game the day before.
“Mistakes can happen, but the problem is that our team can’t hit when it’s important,” Park said, “We had several chances yesterday. We couldn’t capitalize on one out of about three, and that was the difference.”
Oh Jae-il, who started the game off the bench, pinch-hit in the top of the eighth with runners in scoring position, but was stranded on a weak pop fly to second base.
He’s doing a great job defensively. But Park shook his head. “Oh Jae-il is a player who needs to play a role in the center field,” he said. “He’s doing a good job defensively, but what the team needs first is a hitter who can concentrate at the plate and score runs when the center field role is needed. For that, Oh Jae-il needs to be more prepared.”
Oh will start at first base in the sixth spot in the lineup. With catcher Kang Min-ho resting due to knee pain the day before, Oh will have a heavier load on his shoulders.