I'm feeling really good.
Foreign hitter Lewin Diaz of the Samsung Lions hit his first walk-off home run in his KBO League debut.
On the 25th, Diaz started as the cleanup hitter at first base in a home game against the KIA Tigers at Daegu Samsung Lions Park. With the team trailing 0-1, Diaz faced his first at-bat in the first inning with two outs and a runner on first base, hitting a two-run homer against KIA's starting pitcher Yoon Young-chul.
In the ninth inning, tied 2-2, Diaz led off and hit a forkball from Jo Sang-woo over the left field fence. The game ended. Samsung defeated KIA 3-2, clinching the weekend series.
After the game, Diaz met with reporters and said, "I'm feeling really good. It's my first walk-off home run in the KBO League, but I have hit walk-off home runs in the big leagues before. Still, this walk-off home run feels a bit more special to me today."
He added, "I connected well with the center of the bat, but I wondered if it would go over since it was heading in the opposite direction. However, as the left fielder kept backing up, I thought it would clear the fence."
Regarding the situation of the go-ahead home run in the first inning, he mentioned, "As I stepped to the plate for my first at-bat, I thought I would just swing at strikes. I wanted to hit a mistake pitch to center field. Instead of overthinking, I tried to simplify my approach."
With his 20th home run of the season, he rose to the top of the home run leaderboard across the three leagues in Korea, Japan, and the U.S. He said, "First of all, I thank God. It’s possible because God provided me with this opportunity," adding, "It seems like the results are coming from my diligent training every day."
Regarding his good home run pace this season, he responded, "I think I can say it's just about working hard. When I wake up in the morning, I approach each day with a mindset to start anew. I believe it’s thanks to the hard training I’ve done at the baseball field."
He expressed high satisfaction with life in Korea, stating, "There hasn't been a single difficulty since I came here. The Korean culture is great, and I'm enjoying my time here." He also mentioned, "I'm gradually learning some Korean. I'm at the stage of learning one word at a time, but Gu Ja-wook comes to me and talks. I don't know if it’s good or bad words," he smiled.
Regarding his home run goal for this season, he said, "Before the season, I thought about 40 homers, but I think I can raise that target a bit. However, I have no intention of deciding how many I will hit. I'm also curious about how many I will hit by the end of the season."
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