Did he finally finish adapting to the KBO League after a period of perseverance? Jose Rojas, who was the troublemaker of the Doosan Bears, finally showed off the exciting swing that Doosan wanted.
Lohas started안전놀이터 as left fielder 7 in the away game against KT in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 20th and led the team to a 6-0 victory with 2 hits (2 homers) and 3 RBIs in 4 at-bats.
His first home run came in his third at-bat. He appeared as the lead in the 6th inning with a 3-0 lead, and after watching the first pitch strike of the KT starter, he received a changeup on the 2nd pitch and ran away with a superior solo home run. It was the 8th home run of the season after 4 games since the match against Gocheok Kiwoom on the 17th.
Rojas’ bat did not stop. In the 8th inning with a 4-0 lead, 1st base was safe. He met Ju Kwon, a changed pitcher, and attacked the second fastball from 0B-1S and fired a superior wedge two-run gun.
Thanks to his first consecutive home run in his debut, Rojas moved up to second place in the home run category, surpassing Hanwha Noh Si-hwan (8). The gap with leader Park Dong-won (LG) is only one. In the last 7 games, he hit 4 homers and jumped into the competition for the home run king in the KBO League.
Lohas, who became Doosan’s new foreign hitter with a total of $1 million, suffered from a sluggish batting average of 207 li until this day. Contrary to the evaluation of “a spray heater based on excellent contact skills and pioneering ideas,” he struggled to adapt to the league and became a headache for Doosan’s other lineup. Even though he is a foreign hitter, he has been in charge of the 6th and 7th bottom line since mid-April, and his batting average fluctuates between the late 10% range and the early 20% range, and a rebound seems far off.
Doosan Jose Rojas / OSEN DB
Nevertheless, coach Lee Seung-yeop trusted LOHAS. He judged that the main factor behind the sluggishness was the mind rather than the technique, and made every effort to manage the players’ mentality. Director Lee said, “Originally, I am a hitter who has a good starting line and can hit the ball well, but since my performance was poor, I became impatient and lost my time. He seems to be trying to hit too hard.” He will do his best to support him to adapt.”
Did the commander’s trust work? Lohas used a home run against Jamsil KIA on the 12th as an opportunity to rebound. From that time until the previous day against KT, he succeeded in hitting in 7 consecutive games, and during this period, he wrote a batting average of 3.03 (8 hits in 24 at-bats). He decorated as many as 5 out of 8 hits as long hits, and even recorded an incredible slugging percentage of .875. His batting average for the season has already risen to 201.7.
SPOTV commentator Jeong Min-tae, a former KBO league legend, praised Lohas’ second home run that day and said, “I definitely got a feel for it.” Director Lee Seung-yeop, who was in the dugout, also welcomed Lohas’ escape from sluggishness with a pleasant smile. Doosan’s long wait is showing signs of bearing fruit.
