He was introduced as a versatile player who could play both infield and outfield, but day by day, he became known as the “Fear Express. I wonder if he has Ips (a condition that causes severe mental anxiety whenever he performs a certain action).

This is the story of Lotte Giants foreign hitter Niko Goodrum. He’s reached double-digit errors in 33 games, and he’s been making his pitchers nervous with five straight errors (seven total) in his last five games.

바카라사이트Goodrum was brought in as a replacement for Zack Rex, who suffered a knee injury during the last All-Star break.

Originally, Han Dong-hee was Lotte’s third baseman, but he was dropped from the lineup after falling into a bottomless slump this season. Gudrum has been playing third base on days when Noh Jin-hyuk plays and shortstop on days when he doesn’t.

Myung-sik is a foreign hitter, but he hasn’t hit a home run in a month and a half of playing in Korea. His batting average is in the 2.6-7 range, and his OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) is below 0.7. His biggest problem, however, is his defense.

The game between the Lotte Giants and Samsung Lions in the 2023 KBO League was held at Munsu Baseball Stadium in Ulsan on June 6. Lotte’s Gudrum laments his mistake in the second inning after Samsung’s Oh Jae-il hit with runners on first and second base. Ulsan=Park Jae-man 기자pjm@sportschosun.com/2023.09.06/
When he first stepped on Korean soil, Goodrum’s defense looked solid. While not quite on par with former Lotte defensive outfielder Dixon Machado (Triple-A Houston Astros), he had a smooth connection and impressive shoulder to throw to first base. Through his first 27 games in the KBO, he only committed three errors.

However, in the last five games he has played, he has committed a total of seven errors, further shaking up a Lotte team that is busy fighting for the top five. Trauma is a concern.

Gudrum’s strange behavior began on March 26 against the KT Wiz, when he committed three errors in one game. It was a nightmare of a day, as Goodrum dropped a throw to third base in the second inning, followed by a series of home runs in the eighth and ninth innings, sending the team into a five-game losing streak.

It was just the beginning. The next day, on the 27th, the team had a day off, and the games on the 29th and 30th were canceled due to rain.

Then, on the 31st against the Hanwha Eagles, Goodrum added an error to his tally when he misplayed a routine grounder to third base for a one-base error. On the 3rd against the Busan Doosan Bears, after another two games were canceled due to rain, Goodrum dropped another grounder in front of the shortstop by Kim Jae-ho to first base. Against Doosan on the 4th, he had trouble catching. Gudrum missed Lee Yoo-chan’s grounder to third base, allowing a run to score.

31st Lotte-Hanwha game at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park. In the bottom of the third inning, Goodrum makes a bad throw to first base on a grounder to third by Eui-chan Lee. Daejeon=Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com/2023.8.31/
Instead of playing in the last five games, Goodrum was poked and prodded by defense coach Moon Kyu-hyun to improve his defense. However, in the second inning after taking a day off, he made a mistake by missing Oh Jae-il’s grounder to shortstop. That turned into runners on first and second with no outs, and Lotte starter Na Kyun-ahn eventually gave up the go-ahead run on Lee Jae-hyun’s sacrifice fly to right field.

In the seventh inning, Kim Ji-chan’s hard-hit grounder to shortstop was not even caught. Kim eventually came home on the next at-bat when Koo Ji-chan doubled to right-center field.

At this point, the Lotte pitchers seemed to have a bomb in the infield. Mistake after mistake, from Park Se-woong and Kim Won-joong (at least two) to Wilkerson Barnes and Na Kyun-an, the victims are varied.

The batting is just as frustrating. Goodrum was hitless in three at-bats until the sixth inning. He was hit by a 6-4-3 double play with runners on first and second in the fourth inning and struck out with runners on second and third in the sixth inning when Lotte rallied for two runs.

As the regular season draws to a close, Lotte is fighting for a slim chance to advance to fall baseball. How much longer can Lotte manager Lee Jong-woon be patient?

The 2023 KBO League game between the Lotte Giants and Samsung Lions will be held at Munsu Baseball Stadium in Ulsan on May 5. Lotte’s Goodrum performs defensive drills. Ulsan=Park Jae-man 기자pjm@sportschosun.com/2023.09.05/