"I wish it was frustrating." LG's filial son, a foreigner, roars against the backdrop + heart ceremony... He also said sorry to SSG

"I wish it was frustrating." LG's filial son, a foreigner, roars against the backdrop + heart ceremony... He also said sorry to SSG

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It was different from his usual appearance as a pleasant foreigner. On the day, Austin Dean (31) of the LG Twins looked a little more fiercer and exercised more. Finally, as he stepped on the home ground, he sent a finger heart to the dugout. The ceremony was so big that I wondered if it would have been frustrating. However, Austin, who was concerned about the ceremony, explained the background and conveyed his sincere feelings to SSG Landers players and fans who might have been hurt first.메이저사이트

Austin started as the third batter and first baseman in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League regular season SSG at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 11th and recorded one hit (one home run) and two RBIs in four at-bats to lead his team's 6-4 victory.

It was a tight race as foreign pitchers from both teams started the game. The team repeatedly turned the tables, and looked as if it would be okay no matter who won until the sixth inning when the game was tying 3-3. However, Austin's dramatic homerun completely brought the mood of the game to LG.

Austin, who had been silent with two fly balls and one strikeout in the previous at-bat, took the batter's box with one out and one out in the top of the seventh inning when Kim Hyun-soo turned the game around 4-3 with a timely RBI. The opposing pitcher was Lee Woon (21), a must-winner of the SSG who had two wins and two losses with an ERA of 0.80 in 34 games this year. Lee pushed Austin to 2B2S with a rising breaking ball, and Austin continued to kick the ball and persevered. The moment the 8th fastball reached the height of his chest, Austin's bat split the ball into the air and the ball hit the upper left corner of the stand. It was a dramatic wedge shot that gave an impression that it was a home run.
Austin was truly roaring. Austin, who let go of his bat, raised his hand to the sky while going around the first base and came home around the third base, and gave a high-five to Kim Hyun-soo. He then sent a huge heart to the LG dugout waiting for him. Austin is normally highly reactive, but the ceremony made 18,192 spectators gathered at Jamsil Baseball Stadium more thrilling.

Asked about the particularly aggressive ceremony, Austin first left an apology to SSG. "I want to apologize to SSG for making the ceremony too loud. I didn't mean that I didn't respect the opposing pitcher or SSG fans and players," Austin said after the game. "As I haven't been feeling well lately, I think I've been feeling more emotional and expressed more."

Prior to this game, Austin had a batting average of 0.263 (10 hits in 38 at-bats) with two homers and nine RBIs in the last 10 games, and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.792. It may not have met Austin's own standards, but he played his part by ranking first in RBIs and homers in his team during that period.

However, Austin is considered to be more Korean than Korean. Oh, who always shows affection for LG fans and players and calls for Team First, was concerned about the team's poor performance and players' ups and downs. "I always wanted to do well for the team, but it didn't go well," Oh said. "I think (frustration) has been revealed in my facial expressions and actions as my batting has been very bad lately. But (the homer) relieved me a little bit and I got a lot of emotions."
"First of all, it was on my mind that our team had a very difficult moment. Not only winning and losing, but the situation was not good, with (Hong) Chang-gi being seriously injured and (Oh) Ji-hwan being down for a while," he said. "In that case, the pressure comes to the players who were starting. The more difficult the team is, the more pressure and stress the veterans had to produce results somehow, and when things didn't go well, it was mentally difficult."

As a result, fierce competition for the lead in recent months has left Austin and LG players on the back burner. There was no time to pay more attention. With the victory, LG, which tied the game with one win and one loss in the series, recorded 39 wins, one draw and 26 losses, and secured a 0.5-game lead over the second-place Hanwha Eagles (39 wins and 27 losses) who defeated the Doosan Bears on the same day.

"We still have a lot of seasons left, so 0.5 game difference is not too much," Austin said. "Looking back, it was in 2023. Baseball is a sport that requires a lot of thought and a lot of thinking, so if you pay attention to those things (competition for rankings), you will get stressed out. We have more things to care about, such as our condition than our ranking," he said. "We have to see our immediate victory and victory before we go. For now, we are going to do our best and take each step forward."