3rd Basemen Leading Their Teams in HItting This Year

Third baseman Lee Bum-ho of the Hanwha Eagles, who hit three homeruns in the World Baseball Classic in March, is a free agent after this season.

Speculation is rising of a potential bidding war for the slugger but skeptics say he will get little attention because the seven other teams in the league are all solid at third base.

The third basemen have led all of their respective eight teams in homers, with all of them hitting double digits in homeruns.

Kia Tigers third baseman Kim Sang-hyun is leading the pack as a dark horse candidate for MVP with 24 homers and 95 RBIs. Forced to leave the LG Twins for Kia, he is a major factor behind Kia’s league lead.

Not to be outdone, third basemen on other teams are also doing well. Lee Dae-ho of the Lotte Giant has played in all 111 games with 20 homers and 84 RBIs. Kim Dong-joo of the Doosan Bears is his team’s cleanup hitter with 17 homers and a batting average of .345. Hwang Jae-gyun of the Woori Heroes and Jung Sung-hoon of LG are also double threats on defense and offense.

Competition for the Korean league’s best third baseman is likely to continue through the postseason. Since most third basemen are heavy hitters, they can raise both the morale and success of their teams.

Third base is a key position in which one mistake can change the flow of the game. For example, Jung is lacking in hitting but excels on defense while Kim Sang-hyun can hit balls out of the park but leads all third basemen in errors with 14.

hanwshin@donga.com