SEOUL, So far in his first season in South Korea, Matt Davidson has hit in the cleanup spot for the NC Dinos in all of his 38 games.
While Davidson leads his Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs, his manager Kang In-kwon said Tuesday he’d like to see more from his slugger.
“He’s been doing his part but he’s been striking out a lot with runners in scoring position,” Kang said before his club took on the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. “That’s a bit concerning. As far as his hitting mechanics and pitch recognition, we’ll have to sit down and have some discussions.”
The Dinos as a team have struck out more than anyone in the KBO with 400. They are third from bottom with a .275 batting average with runners in scoring position.
Davidson is batting .286 for the season but only .294 with runners in scoring position, which puts him 31st in the league, well behind less-accomplished hitters.
Kang said Davidson has been too particular about sticking to his routines that
he may be neglecting other aspects of hitting.
“He has a very firm set of routines. He likes to take videos of himself swinging and check to see how he’s doing,” Kang said. “But I think he’s leaning too much in that direction. Inside the box, I’d like to see him think more about winning the battle against the pitcher on the mound at the moment. So it’s something we’ll discuss once we return home from this road trip next week.”
Kang said the Dinos went after Davidson last offseason specifically to address the team’s lack of power. The 33-year-old belted 26 home runs for the Chicago White Sox in 2017 and 20 the following year, though he also struck out a ton in both years.
The Dinos would live with high strikeout totals as long as Davidson can bring some power and, in Kang’s mind, a more flexible approach at the plate.
“Since this is his first season, I wanted to respect his routines in the early going,” Kang said. “We’ve played about 50 games so far, and I think we’re at a point where I can exchange some t
houghts with him. I’d need to hear what he has to say as well.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency