Baseball’s Doosan Bears outfielder Yang Ji activated the home run machine in his first at-bat back with the first team.
Yang came up as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded in the eighth inning of the Bears’ 5-0 win over the visiting Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Feb. 22.
After receiving a first pitch from Kiwoom’s left-handed pitcher Yoon Seok-won, Yang didn’t miss the second pitch and launched his 10th home run of the season, a 125-meter shot over the left-center field fence.
It was Yang’s 10th consecutive season with double-digit home runs. It is the 15th in KBO history.
He also recorded his fourth career pinch-hit home run.
Yang, a key player for Doosan, was designated for assignment on Aug. 8 due to a sore left side.
Without Yang, Doosan has struggled to a 3-7 record in 10 games, putting its fifth-place defense in jeopardy.
Ahead of the game, Doosan head coach Lee Seung-yeop said that Yang-ji, who returned to the first-team roster for the first time in two weeks, “is not yet fully fit and will not start for the three-game series.”
True to Lee’s word, Yang Ji flicked at Yoon Seok-won’s ball with his trademark “mindless hitting” technique.
With a seemingly casual swing, he crushed the ball for a home run, marking the perfect comeback. 먹튀검증