Professional baseball player Jake Cave (33) of Doosan Bears is showing off his hot batting form.

Cave started as the second right fielder in the game against Kiwoom Heroes, held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 24th, where he went 2-for-3 with 1 home run, 3 RBIs, 2 runs, 1 walk, and 1 stolen base.

Having debuted in the KBO League after signing a contract with Doosan for an aggregate of $1 million (about 1.4 billion won), Cave is performing well this season with a batting average of .377 over 18 games (69 at-bats, 26 hits), 2 home runs, 14 RBIs, 9 runs, and 5 stolen bases, achieving an OPS of .967. His batting average ranks third in the league. Although he doesn't have many home runs, his high average and unexpected speed are leading the Doosan lineup.

Cave's season start was not very good. He managed to record a batting average of .214 over 8 games in March (28 at-bats, 6 hits). After a match against Samsung on the 30th of last month, he was temporarily removed from the first team roster due to symptoms of fatigue. However, since returning on the 10th against Hanwha, he has gotten a hit in every game. He set a record of 10 consecutive games with hits, accumulating 20 hits. He has been hitting 2 hits per game, achieving multi-hit games daily.

Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop was seen playing catch with Cave during the practice session before the game. “Yesterday, we played catch and he suggested we do it again since I won. I felt like my arm would fall off, but since I won yesterday, I did it again,” said Lee laughing. He noted, “He had a multi-hit yesterday, and I told him to hit 2 more today.”

Whether the catch play jinx had a good effect or not, Cave displayed good performance in the game that day, recording multi-hits including a home run.

In the top of the first inning, with no outs and a runner on first base, Cave hit a big ball against Kiwoom's right-handed starting pitcher Kim Yeon-joo, but it was caught for a fly out by the left fielder. However, in the top of the third inning, with Doosan leading 2-0 and no outs and a runner on first, he hit a towering two-run homer off Kim Yeon-joo's fourth pitch, a fastball traveling at 139 km/h, clearing the center fence. This was his second home run of the season, with a distance of 130 meters.

In his third at-bat with two outs and a runner on second base in the fourth inning, Cave hit a run-scoring single against right-handed reliever Yang Ji-yul. Following that, he successfully stole second base, showcasing his presence on the base paths. In the seventh inning, he drew a walk against right-handed reliever Park Joo-seong and scored on Kim Jae-hwan’s three-run homer. Thanks to the performance of Cave and other hitters, Doosan won 9-3, achieving their second consecutive win.

Regarding Cave's recent performance, manager Lee Seung-yeop commented, “Cave seems to fit better in the role of connecting to the center hitters by playing passionately and hitting a lot of singles rather than seeking power.” He started him as a cleanup hitter, but it seems that hitting second or third suits Cave better. “As he let go of his desire for extra-base hits, his accuracy increased, and he began to achieve a high batting average. Cave's role in our team is very significant. I hope he continues to maintain these results without getting injured.”

With Cave capturing the heart of manager Lee Seung-yeop, fans' expectations are growing to see if he can continue his good performance for the rest of the season.

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