Brian O’Grady, the ugly duckling of the Hanwha Eagles, shook off his heartache by hitting the final double that decided the game. 

O’Grady started as the designated hitter 5 times in the second game of the season against KT in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 15th and played 1 hit in 3 at-bats, 2 RBIs and 2 walks, resulting in a 7-2 victory for the team and the first of the season. led the winning streak. 

O’Grady, who had not adapted to the KBO league before the game and had a batting average of only 106.3. On this day, from his first at-bat, he showed a fierce swing worthy of a foreign batter. Appearing in a chance with 2 out 1st and 2nd base in the 1st inning when it was 0-0, KT hit a preemptive double with 2 RBIs against an opponent who was excluded from selection. After cutting the 5th pitch slider in 2B-2S, he hit the 6th pitch slider properly again and connected it to the season 2 double that hit the right wall directly. It was the moment when the final blow was struck. 

O’Grady, who struck out in the second inning, took the lead in the fifth inning with a 4-1 lead, and even showed a starting point. It was the first time in 8 games since the game against Daegu Samsung on the 4th, with exclusion and a walk after 8 pitches. After that, he walked again in the 9th inning following a fly ball to center field in the 7th inning, completing his first 3 on base in his debut. 스포츠토토

O’Grady wore a Hanwha orange uniform for a total of $900,000 in December last year. He raised expectations as a power hitter who had experience in both American and Japanese baseball, but his performance below expectations increased manager Subero’s concerns. He appeared in 10 games and was in a slump with a batting average of 1.6, 3 runs, 5 runs batted in, .186 on-base percentage, and .178. In the exhibition game, he hit 3 homers amid a sluggish batting average of 10.14 in 12 games, but when the season began, the long hit disappeared. Of his seven hits, the only extra-base hit was one double.

Due to the continued sluggishness, some extreme fans even posted malicious comments on O’Grady’s personal SNS account. O’Grady posted on his social media this morning, “There were a lot of comments telling me to go home to my daughter’s picture. Again, no one wants me to run better than I do.” There’s a lot of season left. The Eagles still have a lot of games to win.” 

The trust of his commanding tower was thick. Coach Subero, who we met prior to the game, said, “It is up to you whether or not you will rebound. We are trying to provide an environment where O’Grady can be mentally stable. There are a lot of hitters like that. I believe in O’Grady’s talent. If he rebounds, he is a player with a lot to show.” 

Coach Subero boldly placed a hitter with a batting average of 10% at number 5 that day. O’Grady perfectly lived up to his beliefs and provided an opportunity for a rebound.