It's the first home run for a foreign hitter in 531 days? The only foreign hitter playing in the first team had a total of 19 hits, but still, Hanshin recorded a new championship record in the shortest time

Sep 19, 2025

It's the first home run for a foreign hitter in 531 days? The only foreign hitter playing in the first team had a total of 19 hits, but still, Hanshin recorded a new championship record in the shortest time
Hanshin foreign hitter Hernandez hit his first home run of the season in an away game in Hiroshima on the 18th. This is Hanshin's first home run as a foreign hitter this season. Photo Source = Hanshin Tigers SNS



It's the first home run for a foreign hitter in 531 days? The only foreign hitter playing in the first team had a total of 19 hits, but still, Hanshin recorded a new championship record in the shortest time
Hanshin, who confirmed his league win early, formed a strong lineup of domestic players. Hernandez was the only foreign hitter to play in the first-team game and had 19 hits. Photo Source = Hanshin Tigers SNS
It's the first home run for a foreign hitter in 531 days? The only foreign hitter playing in the first team had a total of 19 hits, but still, Hanshin recorded a new championship record in the shortest time
Hernandez signed with Hanshin for $300,000 last winter. In the first year of Japanese pro baseball, he mainly stayed in the second division. Photo Source = Hanshin Tigers SNS
Samsung Lions infielder Lewin Diaz (29) throws home runs like a hit these days. At the end of the season, he raises his home run pace again and looks at '50 home runs'. Diaz hit his 48th three-run home run of the season in an away game against the NC Dinos in Changwon on the 18th. In 2015, he was on par with Yamaico Navarro, who had more than 48 as a member of Samsung. Now, adding one more will change the record for the most home runs in a single season for foreign batters in the KBO League.

It slowed down for a while, but recently, home run production has accelerated. Since the game against KT Wiz on the 14th, he has hit home runs in three consecutive games. He hit four in five games. If you add two more, there will be 50 home run hitters in the KBO League for the first time in 10 years since Park Byung-ho in 2015. Last season, NC Matt Davidson hit 46 home runs to take the title.

Foreign hitters will lead the home run race again this year. There is only one Korean player out of the top five. Hanwha Eagles' No. 4 hitter Noh Si-hwan hits 32 and is tied for second place. It is tied with KIA Tigers' Patrick Wisdom, NC Davidson and Diaz. LG Twins' Austin Dean is ranked fifth with 28 points. Although there is a difference in weight, foreign hitters act as the main gun of their team. Foreign hitters must show their presence to achieve team results.




At the Mazda Stadium in Hiroshima on Wednesday, foreign hitter Ramon Hernandez (29) of the Hanshin Tigers made his first appearance in a long time. He started at the 5th-3rd base in an away game against the Hiroshima Carp for the first time in a long time. 40 days after the match against Yakult Swallows on 9 August, he played in the first team. Director Kyuji Fujikawa calls Hernandez
It's the first home run for a foreign hitter in 531 days? The only foreign hitter playing in the first team had a total of 19 hits, but still, Hanshin recorded a new championship record in the shortest time
Hanshin coaching staff and players, including head coach Fujikawa, are greeting after the away match against Hiroshima on the 18th. Photo Source = Hanshin Tigers SNS
It's the first home run for a foreign hitter in 531 days? The only foreign hitter playing in the first team had a total of 19 hits, but still, Hanshin recorded a new championship record in the shortest time
Noyi, who played a great role in the 2023 Japan Series. Photo Source = Hanshin Tigers SNS
He was lifted from the second division and filled the vacancy of the main gun Sato Teruaki, who was accumulated in blood.

Hernandez is from the same Dominican Republic as Samsung Diaz. He failed to reach the major leagues and played in the minor league double A. After passing the U.S. Independent League and the Mexican League, he came to Japan. In 2024, he played 103 games in the Mexican league and posted a batting average of 0.313-22 homers and 71 RBIs. Last winter, he signed an annual contract with Hanshin for $300,000. It is the lowest salary for a foreign player.

The Japanese league is not easy. Moreover, this year, the hitters are struggling due to the strong 'tugotazer'. Hernandez has had little presence so far. He played in 39 games before the game on the 18th. He was 17 for 85 with a .200 batting average and five RBIs. If it were a KBO league with restrictions on foreign players, it would have been replaced a long time ago.




I got off to a good start. He hit a left-handed hit in his first at-bat in the top of the second inning. In the top of the third inning, he hit a double play and retired.

His third at-bat in the top of the sixth inning when he was being chased 3-2. The game was over in an instant. He hit the first pitch thrown by Hiroshima right-hander Nakazaki Shota as the leadoff hitter. He hit a fastball in the middle of the changed pitcher's 144 kilometers per hour and sent it to the left stand of the outfield at Mazda Stadium.

It is Hernandez's first home run in the first division and the first home run by a foreign hitter in Hanshin this year. Hernandez "It was a good day. The coach trusted and gave me a chance to hit a home run
It's the first home run for a foreign hitter in 531 days? The only foreign hitter playing in the first team had a total of 19 hits, but still, Hanshin recorded a new championship record in the shortest time
The match between Samsung and NC at Changwon NC Park on the 18th. Samsung Diaz hits a three-run home run with runners on the first and second bases with no outs in the top of the fourth inning. Az hit his 48th home run, setting a tie for the most home runs in a season for a foreign hitter. Changwon = Reporter Heo Sang-wook
It's the first home run for a foreign hitter in 531 days? The only foreign hitter playing in the first team had a total of 19 hits, but still, Hanshin recorded a new championship record in the shortest time
KIA 위즈덤. Reporter Song Jeong-heon
I was glad to be able to hit it." A home run came right after Hiroshima scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Hanshin, who led the flow with this home run, won the final game of the season against Hiroshima 7-2.

It is surprising that it is Hanshin's first home run of the season for a foreign hitter. What's more surprising is the fact that Sheldon Neuge hit a home run on April 5th last year and it was his first foreign hitter home run. In 531 days, a foreign hitter hit a home run.

Since foreign players started playing in 1952, there has been no season that ended without foreign hitters' home runs until last year. This year came in the 134th game of the season.

Hanshin is the strongest team in the Central League this year. He confirmed his victory on the 7th with an overwhelming performance. There is a whopping 17 games gap with the second-place Yomiuri Giants. He lifted the league trophy on the earliest date in Japanese professional baseball history.

However, the core strength of Tuta is Japanese domestic players. Especially the beast. There are five Hanshin players in the top 10 with the most hits in the Central League and four players in the top 10 batting average. No. 4 hitter Sato ranks first in home runs (38) and RBIs (96), while No. 3 Shota Morisata ranks second in home runs (22) and RBIs (87).

It's the first home run for a foreign hitter in 531 days? The only foreign hitter playing in the first team had a total of 19 hits, but still, Hanshin recorded a new championship record in the shortest time
NC 데이비슨. Reporter Song Jeong-heon
Hernandez was the only foreign hitter to play in the first team. Including foreign pitchers, foreign players had a total of 21 hits. It's very different from the KBO League.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.