Kiwoom Heroes foreign player Edison Russell (29) performed his best in the demonstration game.

Russell started as the 4th shortstop in the demonstration game against the Samsung Lions of the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 24th and played an active part with 3 hits, 1 home run, 3 RBIs and 1 point in 3 at-bats.

Russell, who started the game happily with two outs on first base in the first inning, gave the team a lead by hitting one RBI in a timely manner in the third inning with two outs and three bases. In the 5th inning, with 1 out and 1 base, he hit a two-run home run and scored a runaway score. Kiwoom suffered a 3-4 come-from-behind defeat despite Russell’s performance.메이저놀이터

Russell, who came to Kiwoom in place of Taylor Motor in 2020, failed to renew the contract with poor results with a batting average of .254 (62 hits in 244 bats), 2 homers, 31 RBIs, and an OPS of .643 in 65 games. However, Kiwoom, who confirmed his improvement in hitting by hitting 24 home runs in the Mexican League last year, brought Russell back this season in anticipation of a rebound.

However, Russell did not perform as well as expected in the demonstration game. Prior to the game on this day, he had a batting average of 10.43 (3 hits in 21 at-bats) and 1 RBI and an OPS of .360 in 9 games. On the 23rd, he volunteered to play the game to the end and went out as the designated hitter, but was silent with no hits in 4 at bats. Nonetheless, coach Hong Won-ki said, “I hit good balls in Daejeon and Changwon. There are still ups and downs, but I think I need to watch a little more. Conditions don’t seem too bad. It’s literally an exhibition game, so I hope you do well when the season starts. I will do well.”

On this day, Russell perfectly lived up to director Hong Won-ki’s trust. His exhibition game was his first three-hit game with his first home run. The last time Russell recorded three hits was against Doosan on September 13, 2020. He had a total of three three-hit games in the 2020 season.

Attention is focusing on whether Russell, who finally wielded a bloody blow, will be able to show a different look from 2020 this season. /fpdlsl72556@osen.co.kr