The Doosan Bears suffered a devastating loss to their ‘Jamsil rivals’, the LG Twins. The Bears dropped the weekend series and suffered a complete collapse of their defense, which has been the pride of their baseball team.
Moreover, the performance of the foreign batters was mixed: while the opposing foreign batters had three hits, including a ground home run, Doosan’s foreign bat Jose Rojas was not even in the first team.
On June 18, Doosan suffered a crushing 3-15 loss at Jamsil LG. The loss left the fifth-ranked team in the league with a record of 30 wins, one loss, and 30 ties on the season.
Doosan is in desperate need of a rebound from its foreign batsman Rojas. Photo by Kim Young-gu
Doosan gave up a seven-run big inning in the bottom of the second inning, trailing 2-1. The Bears’ vaunted team defense collapsed for a moment. Park Hae-min’s ordinary outfield fly ball was turned into a hit when the center fielder and right fielder delayed the call, and then Austin’s line drive was dropped by Jung Soo-bin as he tried to make a diving catch, giving up a ground home run.
Doosan was left with a humiliating 3-15 defeat as errors continued to plague them.
It was a day of differences in overall quality, but the presence or absence of foreign batters was also a big factor. LG was led by foreign-born Austin, who went 3-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Doosan, on the other hand, didn’t even have a foreign hitter, Rojas, in the first team. He was recently sent down to the Future Team due to a prolonged hitting slump.스포츠토토
To make matters worse, Rojas’ batting numbers weren’t much better in the Future Team either. In six Futures League games since his demotion, Rojas has gone just .200 with five hits, one run, one RBI, two runs, four walks, a .310 on-base percentage, and a .200 slugging percentage.
Manager Lee Seung-yeop made it clear that he’d like to see Rojas get back to the point where he’s ready for a major league call-up. Based on his Futures League results, Rojas still doesn’t seem to be in the best of shape.
Rojas’ hitting slump extended through April and May, and he was eventually sent down to the Future Team. Photo by Kim Young-gu
Doosan Future Team manager Lee Jung-hoon is keeping a close eye on Rojas. When Rojas was expunged from the first team, Lee said, “I can’t approach him the same way as domestic players. But we have to accept the changes. It can’t go on like this. I will recognize Rojas’ basic skills, but I will push him where he needs to be pushed.”
What did he think after spending a week with Rojas?
When contacted by MK Sports on June 18, Lee said, “I think Rojas’ swing speed and batting quality are definitely better than when he first came down. His record in the Futures League isn’t great, but here, it’s more about correcting his swing mechanics and improving his shortcomings than it is about the number of hits,” he said, adding, “As a foreign hitter, it’s hard for him to accept big changes in the middle of the season. I try to give him advice that doesn’t deviate too much from the basics, and he says he can relate to it. However, when I look at him from the side, I think he’s too meek, so I think I need to be stronger mentally as a foreign hitter.”
Rojas could make his first-team return against SSG Landers in Jamsil on the 21st. From the perspective of the first-team bench, which needs to rejuvenate the team, there is a good chance that Rojas will be called up as soon as possible once his swing mechanics are in order. Rojas’ rebound, along with the addition of returning foreign pitcher Brandon Waddell to the team, will have a major impact on Doosan’s momentum in the standings at the end of the first half. It will be interesting to see if Rojas will show a different bat after his tearful performance in Icheon.
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