Will the lower batting lineup that led to victory come alive?

The KIA Tigers are losing their prestige as the defending champions. Last week, they recorded 5 wins and 1 loss, achieving a .500 winning percentage (22 wins and 22 losses) and seemed to be on an upward trajectory, but this week they suffered two consecutive losses to the KT Wiz, dropping their winning percentage back to the .400 range. The decisive reason is the silence of the batting lineup. In particular, the lower batting lineup is not performing.

It is no exaggeration to say that last year, the KIA achieved victory with a team batting average of .310. Although 4 out of 5 opening starters were injured, they effectively utilized substitute starters in a timely manner. In particular, a strong bullpen consisting of 5 reliable pitchers supported the team, and a powerful hitting formula was operated throughout the year to gain momentum.

The lower batting lineup last year was formidable. The batting average from the 6th to the 9th hitters reached an impressive .290. This was just shy of the .299 batting average of the cleanup trio. Essentially, it wasn't a true lower batting lineup. The consolidation and focus of the entire batting lineup were bound to improve. They solved chances and connected to the upper batting lineup.

Kim Sun-bin was the most frequent 6th hitter, recording a batting average of .330. Han Jun-soo was the 8th hitter with a .370 average, Choi Won-jun was the 9th hitter with a .299 average, and Seo Gun-chang was the 7th hitter with a .290 average. Lee Woo-sung also recorded a batting average in the late .200s in the lower batting lineup. Occasionally appearing backups all recorded a batting average of .300, which contributed to an increase in scoring ability.

This year, the lower batting lineup is not active. The batting average from the 6th to the 9th hitters is only .221. They are ranked 7th among 10 teams. The team's batting average has also dropped from .310 to .246 (7th), which is contributing to the decline. When chances are given to the lower batting lineup, scoring hits are not coming through smoothly.

This is because Lee Woo-sung, Choi Won-jun, and Han Jun-soo, who showed active hitting from the lower ranks last year, are silent. Lee Woo-sung has a batting average of .236 this year, with a scoring opportunity average of only .147. Last year, he had a batting average of .288 and a scoring opportunity average of .266. Choi Won-jun, who recorded a batting average of .292 last year and a scoring opportunity average of .310, currently has a batting average of .195 and a scoring opportunity average of .167.

Han Jun-soo, recognized as an offensive catcher, is faring even worse. Last year, he recorded a batting average of .370 with a scoring opportunity average of .267, but this year he is limited to a batting average of .188 and a scoring opportunity average of .130. Although all three hitters are not typically poor performers, they are unable to escape a prolonged slump. Overall, the league is increasingly experiencing a low-scoring phenomenon, but the KIA lower hitters have sharply declined.

The upper batting lineup, consisting of Park Chan-ho, Kim Sun-bin, Kim Do-young, Choi Hyung-woo, and Oh Sun-woo, is performing well. The upper batting lineup is creating opportunities that the lower batting lineup fails to capitalize on regularly. For the lower batting lineup to compete for rankings, they must at least regain their average performance. The strength of the lower batting lineup is expected to influence KIA's scoring ability and fate.

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