“He was good at defense, wasn't he? He seems to be even better at attacking.”

The professional baseball team KIA Tigers is fighting a war against injuries as players are going down with injuries at each position. They must not only face their opponents but also exercise caution to prevent further injuries.

They can only build a starting lineup with the players who are left. The absence of superstar Kim Do-young, who received the league MVP award last year, is particularly painful as he has gone down with injuries, including Na Sung-bum (right calf) and Kim Sun-bin (left calf). Kim Do-young injured his left hamstring in the opening game and hurt his right hamstring on the 27th of last month.

In a situation where it is not an exaggeration to call it 'Kim Do-young's team,' the two departures due to hamstring injuries have been particularly painful. While attacking is crucial, defense at third base is key as well. Adding to this, his friend Yoon Do-hyun, who was filling in the gaps in Kim Do-young's infield presence, also suffered a finger fracture, further complicating the situation.

It has become difficult to assemble a starting infield. The weight of the batting lineup has significantly decreased. Still, there is a player who compensates for Kim Do-young's presence in defense: foreign slugger Patrick Wisdom. Wisdom left the lineup due to back pain in mid-May and returned on June 1. However, upon his return, Wisdom started as the third baseman instead of first base and has been playing there since.

The defensive responsibilities are greater than at first base, but Wisdom is handling it quite well. Although there are concerns about physical strain, there has been no sign of it so far. He has started as the third baseman for 11 consecutive games since June 1. His offensive performance hasn't diminished, and there have been no issues with third base defense.

At third base, Wisdom boasts a batting average of .326 (15 hits in 46 at-bats), with 4 home runs and 9 RBIs, showcasing excellent hitting form. When he played at first base, he had a batting average of .237 (27 hits in 114 at-bats), with 8 home runs and 23 RBIs, leading to significant performance differences, even if the samples for third base are much smaller.

Lee Beom-ho, the KIA manager and a former Golden Glove third baseman, said, “He has been great defensively. His throw is good. I think he might be hitting even better at third base due to the increased tension compared to playing at first base.” He laughed and added, “You have to catch the ball and make the throw to get an out at third base, so it requires more focus on defense, which I believe has positively influenced his batting average and records.”

Of course, given the back injury history, they cannot neglect physical fitness and injury management. Manager Lee Beom-ho also noted, “There are concerns about his physical condition.”

In fact, Wisdom hit more than half of his 88 home runs in Major League Baseball as a third baseman, hitting 56 home runs from the position. He played third base for 277 games (239 starts) and logged 2,119⅔ innings. This is nearly five times more defensive innings than the 83 games (53 starts) and 464⅔ innings played at first base.

Having a prominent star like Kim Do-young is merely a choice to maximize both offense and defense; thus, it is not such an unusual sight to see Wisdom taking on the hot corner at third base. It raises the question of how long the performance of Wisdom, who has experience as a big league third baseman, can continue.

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