If he is silent at bat, he emits his presence on defense. This is the story of Edison Russell (29), a foreign player with Kiwoom Heroes’ fortune. 

Russell started as the 4th hitter and shortstop in the first leg of the 3-game series against the Doosan Bears in the 2023 KBO League held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 16th. He was replaced by Kim Tae-jin in the 5th inning ahead of Kiwoom’s defense and was eliminated from the game. It is because of the injury caused by directing an impressive scene. 

Prior to this game, Russell had a good performance with a batting average of 0.320, 4 homers and 32 RBIs. He has a batting average of 0.254 and 2 home runs, which is completely different from the failed 2020 season. 

On this day, he was unable to attack opposing starting pitcher Choi Won-joon. He struck out in the bottom of the first inning and retired on a fly ball to second base in the fourth. 

Russell was the driving force behind the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series in 2016. He was the starting shortstop. He also hit a home run in Game 6 of the World Series against the Cleveland Guardians (then Indians). 

The scene that showed the big leaguer class in this game was when I was defending at the beginning of the 4th inning. Starting pitcher Choi Won-tae hit a two-run homer to Yang Seok-hwan, and allowed a heavy hit in the subsequent match against Heo Kyung-min. In this situation, he also allowed a hit in the middle to Jose Rojas. 

Shortstop Russell and second baseman Kim Hye-seong, who operated a defensive shift to the right. The ball hit by Rojas brushed the second base and tried to escape to the outfield, but Russell quickly moved and snatched the ball. 안전놀이터

It was difficult to catch first base runner Heo Gyeong-min from second base. Hyesung Kim was too far away to get the base cover. In this situation, Russell showed quick situational judgment. After confirming the runner’s position with Kim Hye-sung and looking sideways, he threw to first base to catch the batter runner almost without delay. In the thin ice situation, the initial judgment was declared safe, but as a result of video review, it was corrected to save. 

Russell suffered a right abrasion in the process and ended the game as a protection measure. He did a defense that did not give the flow to the opponent in the crisis of extra points. He looks like a normal defense, but his footwork, judgment, and throwing ability worked well.