The level of Korean baseball is low? Korea saved me by turning my life around in KBO
Feb 12, 2025
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SSG Landers' 'Hyoza' Foreign hitter Herredia is not a player with a stellar major league career. Of course, there were moments of brilliance. The Seattle Mariners, their big league debut team, played more than 120 games for two consecutive seasons, confirming their possibility with an OPS in the 600s, and became a "sparky star" when they played 120 regular-season games for the Atlanta Braves in 2021 and even stepped up to the postseason stage to become a World Series winner.
Most of the time, however, was a prospect or backup. After being released by Atlanta in 2022, his success in the major leagues has actually taken a step back. Then SSG took Herredia's hand.
As a backup junior outfielder in the Major League, he flew in the KBO League. Eredia, who is already in her third year this year, is already an indispensable key hitter at SSG. After hitting a batting average of .323 with 153 hits and 12 home runs in 2023, it has evolved further with a batting average of .360, 195 hits, 21 home runs and 118 RBIs last year. Last year, Herredia ranked first in the league's batting average, second in the most hits, and third in RBIs.
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Some criticize the league itself as he, who did not have much success in the major leagues, has been a huge success in the KBO league. In response to the news about Herredia, some overseas baseball fans, including the United States and Japan, even evaluated it on social media, saying, `Doesn't it mean that the level of Korean baseball is several levels below?'
Of course, compared to the Major League, the average level of the KBO League is low, but in fact, the fact that Herredia can play a season with confidence as a solid starting player creates a different environment and atmosphere.
On the 11th (Korea time), Herredia's home country, Cuba's sports media 'Perota Cubana USA' reported an article related to Herredia. The article sheds light on how great Herredia is in the KBO League and focuses on the meaning of winning the individual title.
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He lacked confidence when he played as a challenger in the Major League, but he is also expressing his true value by recovering his confidence while playing in the KBO League.
When judging the success or failure of foreign players, they usually compare their performance with the previous league and measure the level of the league. However, contrary to Herredia, there were more cases where they did not succeed in the KBO League even though they had a brilliant major league career.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
