"Crazy 54 Home Run Face." I can't believe I'm the home run king for only 1 billion won..."God-given opportunity. I won't limit myself"

"Crazy 54 Home Run Face." I can't believe I'm the home run king for only 1 billion won..."God-given opportunity. I won't limit myself"

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Thank God. I think I was able to do it because God gave me this opportunity."

Lewin Diaz, a 29-year-old foreign hitter of the Samsung Lions, has transformed himself from a danger of being kicked out of the team. He already hit 20 home runs in 53 games this season. He ranks first in home runs in the league, and is capable of hitting 54 home runs in this season. The record number of home runs in a season was 56 set by Lee Seung-yeop (current coach of the Doosan Bears) in 2003. If he maintains 54 pace, he will tie the record of second place (Lee Seung-yeop in 1999).

In fact, Diaz was not a batter who was chosen with high expectations for home runs. He hit a total of 13 home runs in three seasons in the U.S. Major League and 119 home runs in nine seasons in the Minor League, which was the highest in a single season in 2019.메이저놀이터

Diaz joined Samsung as a substitute foreign player in August last year and renewed his contract this year, but he was not a strong hitter. He had a batting average of 0.282 (31 hits in 110 times at bat), seven homers and 19 RBIs in 29 games last season. With stable defense and ability to guess, Samsung renewed his contract with Diaz for 800,000 U.S. dollars this year. Considering that the club usually costs more than 1 million dollars (about 1.3 billion won) when bringing in an ace player, it was included in a low-cost contract.

Up until early April, Diaz was mentioned as a potential exit. Despite his poor early pace, he suddenly hit a lot of home runs and began to see an upward curve. He has become a difficult hitter by making up for his weaknesses that he used to take on high courses. Diaz became one of the top hitters in the league this season with a batting average of 0.308 (64 hits in 208 at-bats), 20 homers, 58 RBIs and an OPS of 1.008 in 53 games. He is now poised to seek MVP as he ranks first in home runs and RBIs, and third in the OPS.

Diaz showed off his dignity as No. 1 in home runs in the league against the Daegu KIA Tigers on Saturday. KIA was boosted as it lost its 0-1 lead thanks to Kim Do-young's home run in the top of the first inning. Kim Do-young threatened Samsung's ace Won Tae-in by hitting a homer in four consecutive games, his personal record. Then, he made a come-from-behind two-run shot in the bottom of the first inning, turning the game around 2-1. At the bottom of the ninth inning when the score was 2-2, he hit a solo shot to the left, leading the team to a 3-2 victory. KIA was hit harder because it was a shot that destroyed setup man Cho Sang-woo.
Samsung Diaz's walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Diaz rejoices with his teammates.
Thanks to Diaz's two home runs, three RBIs and a one-man show, Samsung won two consecutive games and was able to recover its 50% winning rate with 26 wins, 26 losses and 1 draw for the season.

Regarding hitting his first walk-off home run in the KBO League, Diaz said, "I've hit a walk-off home run in the big league before, but today's game (25th) feels more special. (The walk-off home run) hit the center well when it hit the bat. It hit me well, but I thought I would go over the left field because I was thinking about whether to fly in the opposite direction or not, and I kept going back."

It is his first time to run the pace of 50 home runs in this season. Diaz pointed out that steady preparation was the key to the incredible increase in home runs.

Diaz said, "Thank God for now. I think I was able to do it because God gave me a chance. I think the result is that I'm working out really hard every day. The secret is to work hard. I always wake up in the morning and think, 'Today is a new day, so let's start anew.' I think I can hit a home run now because I always wake up, go to the ballpark, come out and work hard.

Diaz, who is in her second year of living in Korea, says she enjoys everything. Korean culture is good, and she is trying to fit into the team more by learning Korean taught by her teammate Koo Ja-wook.

"I know how to say 'hello' and 'thank you'. I'm learning Korean words little by little, and Koo Ja-wook always comes to teach me, but I don't know if it's a good or bad word (laughs). Koo Ja-wook teases me all the time, and I'm learning one by one in the process, and I'm still trying to get used to Korean," Diaz said with a smile.

In preparation for this season, Diaz aimed for 40 home runs. There is only half of the goal left.

Diaz said, "I set my goal to hit 40 before the season starts. Come to think of it today (25th), I think I can increase it a little bit. To be honest, I don't want to limit myself. "I'm just curious how many I'll hit at the end of the season," he said, asking him to watch his challenge to become the home run king.