Puig hits first KBO home run!

Puig team photo with Kiwoom Heroes of KBO

After getting his first KBO hit on April 2 and scoring a walk-off run on the next day, Puig has impressed the Korean fans with his first KBO home run on April 5th, Korean time. He was already a favourite for being a friendly teammate with the current starting pitcher for the Blue Jays, Hyun-Jin Ryu and showing off his dance moves in his social media.

Puig homers on the bottom of the eighth inning

This was the first of the 3 game series against LG Twins. He put the barrel of the bat on a 93 mph fastball off a 22-year-old relief pitcher, Jung Woo-Young who has not allowed a home run since October 10, 2020. His homerless streak lasted 78 games. Another thing to note the ball went off with an exit velocity was 107 miles, which is rare in KBO. Let’s take a look at his swing frame-by-frame.

Lifts his left leg — leg kick — before he pushes his foot
Prepares a stance with his foot stretching forward and rotates his shoulder
Sees the ball by discerning what type of pitch it is and its location (93 miles inside)
Makes a contact on the sweet spot
And blasts it off with a full swing and a follow-through
Puig celebrating his first home run
Photo credit to MK Sports
Puig when he was with Dodgers
Photo credit to taorminaphoto.com

The way he celebrates after hitting a home run has not changed since he made a MLB debut with the Dodgers. It is also Kiwoom Baseball’s tradition to wear a crown just like how Jays wear their jacket.

Puig puts the crown with baseball attached on the top

Puig went 1-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and two strikeouts and the Kiwoom lost to LG by 8 – 4 after allowing 3 more runs in the top of the 9th inning. It is a great start for Puig whose goal is to make a comeback to the MLB next season. Hopefully, we get to see more of this mighty power as well as his improvement on getting on bases.

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