NC Dinos outfielder Hee-dong Kwon is a tricky hitter that pitchers don’t want to face. In 96 regular-season games this year, Kwon batted .285 with a .793 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) while facing 1,641 pitches in 373 at-bats .His 4.40 pitches per at-bat is the highest among NC hitters and the highest among all KBO players with at least 300 at-bats this season. Pitchers facing Kwon Hee-dong are bound to be more tired than when facing other hitters, and even if he doesn’t get a hit himself, his chances of getting on base increase slightly. In the third game of the playoffs (PO-5 best-of-three system) against KT WIZ on the 2nd, Kwon Hee-dong’s persistence stood out.NC, in a general batting slump, failed to put a single runner in scoring position on the day and lost 0-3.For KT, the key to the victory was a dominant performance by starter Ko Young-pyo, who pitched six innings of three-hit ball with two walks and five strikeouts. However, it was Kwon Hee-dong who gave him the most trouble .Ko threw 105 pitches on the day, but Kwon alone stole 21 of them.
In the bottom of the second inning, after four foul balls in a full count (three balls and two strikes), Kwon Hee-dong picked off a ball that flew by on the 10th pitch .It was NC’s first hit against Ko Young-pyo. However, there was no follow-up hit.In his second at-bat in the bottom of the fourth inning, he flied out to center field, but he forced Ko to throw 11 pitches .Kwon Hee-dong played a big role in the fact that the in-form Ko was unable to play a longer innings, reaching 100 pitches in six innings .After the game, Ko Young-pyo, who was named the Daily Most Valuable Player (MVP), said, “(Kwon Hee-dong’s) concentration was good and she was in good shape, so it was tricky.” “I tried not to give up any runs, but the last ball was ruled a ball,” he said. From the wild-card game to the second round of the playoffs, NC won six games in a row with precise contact from the top of the order and surprise long balls from the bottom of the order.
If Kwon Hee-dong, the No. 5 hitter who bridges the top and bottom of the lineup, can continue to harass opposing pitchers and get on base, it could be the catalyst for the NC bats to rebound.NC Dinos and KT Wiz play in the first round of the 2023 KBO Baseball Postseason Playoffs at Katie Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, on Tuesday afternoon. NC’s Kwon Hee-dong celebrates after hitting 무료슬롯게임 a single with the bases loaded in the top of the third inning.