The butterfly effect that KIA solved in a big way...Is it the willingness to re-employment or 'bombing the Winter League' as the first alternative foreign hitter
The butterfly effect that KIA solved in a big way...Is it the willingness to re-employment or 'bombing the Winter League' as the first alternative foreign hitter
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Outfielder Socrates Brito (33), who played for the KIA Tigers in professional baseball for three years and contributed to the unified championship, failed to renew his contract, but he showed his presence by swinging his bat in the Dominican Winter League.
Socrates started the first game of the 2024-2025 Dominican Winter League Final Series at the Estadio Kiskeya Juan Marishal Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on the 21st (Korea Standard Time), and played 2 hits, 2 RBIs and 1 walk in 6 at-bats, including a two-run home run. His team, Leones del Escohido, lost 3-4 to Tigress del Lisay after a close game in the 14th inning of extra time, but Socrates' presence stood out.
His homerun in the fifth inning was impressive. In the fifth inning when the game was tying 1-1, left-hander Leimin Gouan hit a four-seam fastball (152.6 kilometers per hour) driven in the middle of the fourth pitch to far over the fence in the right-center field. The homerun measured the driving distance of 394 feet (120.1 meters) by emitting a ball that flew at 107.9 miles (173.6 kilometers per hour).
After failing to renew his contract with KIA, Socrates joined Leones del Escohido, led by "major league legend" Albert Pujols, on the 22nd of last month. After playing four games at the end of the regular season, he played a batting average of 362 (21 hits in 58 at-bats) in 15 games in the semi-final series, with two homers, nine RBIs, seven walks, seven strikeouts, and a .424 slugging percentage.552 OPS.976.
He continued his momentum by playing on the third base including home runs from the first game of the final series. At the second game on Saturday, he had no hit in four times at bat, but his team came from behind to win the game 3-2, reviving his hope of winning the title. So far, Socrates has posted a batting average of 3337 (29 hits in 86 times at bat) in 21 games, with three homers, 12 RBIs, 10 walks, 10 strikeouts, and OPS.947.
It is the first time in three years that Socrates was playing in the Dominican Winter League. After signing a contract with Kia, he rested for two consecutive seasons in the winter, but now he is in a position to save his team. KIA gave up its contract renewal after recruiting Patrick Wisdom, a slugger with 88 home runs in the Major League, and Socrates immediately started to look for a job in the Dominican Winter League.
Socrates is a proven player in Korea. As a left-handed and left-handed outfielder, he successfully renewed his contract with a batting average of 311 (660 hits in 514 times at bat) and 17 homers, 77 RBIs and 12 steals in 127 games in the first year of his KBO League debut in 2022. In his second year, he renewed his contract with a batting average of 285 (156 hits in 547 times at bat) and an OPS of .807 with 20 homers, 96 RBIs and 15 steals in 142 games last year.
Last year, he had a batting average of .310 (171 hits in 552 times at bat), 26 homers, 97 RBIs, 13 steals, and OPS.875 in 140 games, contributing to Kia's overall win. In the Korean Series, he also had a batting average of .30 (six hits in 20 times at bat) in five games, including a two-run homer in the sixth inning of Game 4, and posted an OPS of .814 with one homer, five RBIs, and five steals in five games. He has posted a batting average of .302li (487 hits in 1613 times at bat) in 409 games over the past three years at Kia (OPS.843 with 63 homers, 270 RBIs, and 40 steals.
Despite his stellar performance, his performance was not top-notch for a foreign hitter. As a type of batter who gets preheated late every spring, he has been agonizing over the release of batters early in the season, but repeated the pattern in earnest from May to June. Last year, OPS, WAR (4.12), and wRC+ (122.4) were all ranked sixth among foreign hitters due to the season of "Tago Pitcher," falling short of the average. Outfield defense has also gradually declined, and the age at which he will turn 33 next year was another cause of concern.
In the end, KIA chose to say goodbye to Socrates, but excluded him from the list of players withheld for insurance. In recognition of Socrates' contribution, he released the right to hold on a grand scale, paving the way for him to transfer to other teams in the KBO League. As of the 9th, he was also announced as a free agent in the KBO. 메이저사이트
As all KBO League teams have completed recruiting foreign players, teams that create holes in foreign hitters during the season can consider Socrates as the top priority. The advantage is that it can quickly become a powerhouse after already adapting to the league. I wonder if we can see Socrates' cheering song and "Sword Dance" in Korea again this season.