LG Twins captain Oh Ji-hwan, 33, is likely to remain in the minds of baseball fans as the man who never gives up .He saved the team from the brink of defeat in the Korean Series (KS) in consecutive games. Oh hit a dramatic game-winning home run with runners on first and second base in the top of the ninth inning of a 5-7 defeat against the visiting KT Wiz in the third game of the 2023 Baseball World Series at Katie Wiz Park in Suwon on Tuesday. He took a 145-kilometer fastball up the middle off opposing closer Kim Jae-yoon and blasted a three-run homer over the right field wall .Thanks to Oh’s home run, LG defeated KT 8-7 and took a 2-1 series lead .In fact, Oh made a big mistake earlier in the game that nearly cost them the gam e.In the bottom of the fifth inning with a 3-1 lead, he deflected KT’s Jang Sung-woo’s grounder to the shortstop .A calm catch would have ended the inning .Oh’s error led to an unearned run. As the ball dropped backward, first baseman Park Byung-ho raced to second and then to third, and LG left fielder Moon Sung-joo made a bad throw to put runners on first and second and third. The LG mound was shaken, and the team gave up back-to-back singles to pinch-hitters Kim Min-hyuk and Anthony Alford to cut the deficit to 3-4.
LG’s three runs in the fifth inning started with a fielding error by Oh Ji-hwan. Oh couldn’t keep his head up. In the top of the seventh inning, he struck out with a passive swing at a floated ball .In the bottom of the eighth, LG gave up three more runs, including a two-run homer to Park Byung-ho, but LG didn’t give up. Neither did Oh Ji-hwan. With runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth, Oh blasted a home run to complete the drama .With five hits, two doubles, a home run, and three RBIs, Oh was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of Game 3 of the KS and received $1 million in prize money. In fact, he didn’t give up in Game 2 of the KS on the 8th, setting the stage for the game-winning run. “Before KS, I told the players, ‘Let’s not give up until the end,'” said Oh, who walked into the postgame press conference on Tuesday. “Even today, the team’s mood dropped after Park’s (Byung-ho) home run (in the eighth inning), but I think we won the game because we were all eager in the ninth inning.” Oh said of the home run situation. As for the circumstances of the home run, he explained, “(KT closer) Kim Jae-yoon threw a changeup with the first pitch, and the ball went out.” “Afterward, (KT catcher) Jang Sung-woo went up to the mound and talked to him,” he said.
“I think Sung-woo probably said, ‘Throw a fastball confidently in your style,’ so I kept it simple and went to bat,” he said, adding, “As if on cue, the second fastball came and I was able to hit a home run.” “Actually, I had a lot of pressure because I gave up three runs early in the game due to my mistake,” he said, “but I thought I could turn it around because the score was small,” he said confidently .In fact, it was hard to predict whether Oh would be named the game’s MVP. Park Dong-won hit a dramatic come-from-behind two-run homer in the sixth inning and Park Byung-ho hit a dramatic come-from-behind two-run homer in the eighth inning .In particular, Park was in the mood to hit a game-winning home run for the second straight game. If Park Dong-won’s home run had decided the game and LG had won, the series MVP award would have been tilted toward Park Dong-won .”It’s become fun (competing for Series MVP),” Oh laughed, “I’d like to win a Rolex, but winning comes first .”Former LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, who passed away in 2018, bought a Rolex watch for 80 million won in 1998, saying, “If you win, give it to the KS MVP. Oh Ji-hwan and Park Dong-won’s 무료슬롯게임 spirited MVP rivalry is also heating up.
