SEOUL– Having captured the 2015 Korean Series MVP and posted a higher career batting average in the postseason than in the regular season, Doosan Bears’ outfielder Jung Soo-bin doesn’t have to prove his big-game chops.
But in case anyone doubted Jung’s ability to come through in crucial games, the 31-year-old impacted his club’s series-clinching victory Sunday with his bat and his glove.
The Bears defeated the LG Twins 10-3 to claim the best-of-three first round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason in three games. Jung went 3-for-5 with four RBIs, while also making a pair of outstanding diving grabs in center field.
He garnered 56 out of 72 media votes to earn the series MVP award.
Jung wasted little time making his presence felt Sunday. He led off the game with a single off starter Im Chan-kyu, reached second on a wild pitch and scored the game’s first run on Jose Miguel Fernandez’s double.
Then in the bottom first, Jung robbed LG leadoff Hong Chang-ki of a hit by diving to his right on a sinking liner.
Jung was at it again in the bottom second, diving to his left to catch Gu Bon-hyeok’s fly ball into shallow right-center field.
At the plate, Jung collected his first RBI of the day with a two-out single in the fourth. And he was far from done.
In the fifth, Jung stepped up with the bases load and the Bears up 6-1. He cleared the bases with a triple to the right field corner, and it was his record-tying fifth career postseason three-bagger.
Jung has a lifetime .281 batting average in the regular season, but for the postseason, he is hitting .305 after Sunday’s game.
Jung said after the game his diving grabs were even more important than his three-run triple.
With Hong at the plate, Jung shaded toward left, knowing Hong tends to hit a lot of balls to that side of the field.
“I figured I would have to make a diving catch at some point in the game,” Jung said. “In big games like this, one play can swing the momentum. And I knew if I could catch that ball, we would have momentum on our side. It was still early in the game, and I thought we’d have a chance even if I missed that ball.”
Jung became a free agent after last season and landed a massive six-year deal worth 5.6 billion won (US$4.7 million) to stay with the Bears, the only team he’s played for since his debut in 2009.
The Bears may have overpaid for the light-hitting center fielder with declining speed and defense. And Jung was hitting .197 through August.
But he found his stroke in September and has continued to swing the solid bat in the postseason. And for this series against the Twins, Jung hit and played defense like it was 2015 again.
“I feel like I am getting a chance to redeem myself here, and I don’t want to miss out on this opportunity,” Jung said. “I think that mindset has helped me so far.”
Up next will be the Samsung Lions in the next round, starting Tuesday. It was against the Lions in the 2015 Korean Series that Jung won the MVP award.
“They have both great pitching and great offense,” Jung noted. “We may be a bit fatigued, but a playoff series comes down to focus and momentum. I think we’ll be in a great position to win.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency