"Carasco did his role well"... Austin 39 home runs, Kim Do-young 40, 1 behind
Batting average 0.342, 39 home runs, OPS 1.098. Austin broke the LG team record for most home runs, but the home run leader race is still chasing just 1 behind.
Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.
September 20 afternoon, it was Jamsil. Bottom of the 5th inning, 2 outs, runner on 1st. The first baseman who hit 39 home runs ran to 2nd base.OSEN According to the report, Austin Dean (32) successfully stole a base that day, and LG beat Hanwha 4-3. It was one base created by the feet of the home run hitter.
Austin 39 home runs, Kim Do-young 40, a gap of 1
KBO official records (as of 2026.09.21 05:00) Austin in 131 games with batting average 0.342,39 home runs, 122 RBIs, OPS1.098. The figures from Nate Sports coverage are the same. However, in home runs, Austin is not in the lead. Kim Do-young (22, KIA)40is 1 ahead. Austin is the pursuer.
Kim Do-young is recording a 0.310 batting average in 123 games, 140 hits, 102 RBIs. Playing 8 fewer games than Austin and hitting 1 more home run. He was a player who only appeared in 30 games due to a hamstring injury in the 2025 season. The table below is the sorting among players confirmed from KBO official batting records and is separate from the league overall standings.
| Rank | Player | Home Runs | Team | Difference from Austin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kim Do-young | 40 | KIA | +1 |
| 2 | Austin | 39 | LG | — |
| 3 | Hilliard | 37 | KT | -2 |
| 4 | Kang Baek-ho | 32 | Hanwha | -7 |
| 5 | Na Sung-bum | 28 | KIA | -11 |
Ramos 38 surpassed, LG team record, a different story from Diaz 50
He already broke one record.YonhapnewsAccording to Yonhapnews, Austin hit his season 39th on September 13 against Samsung, breaking the LG single-season record set by Ramos in 202038 home runs. He set a number that did not exist in the team's history.
Team records and league foreign player records are on completely different levels. The KBO foreign batter single-season home run record is 50, set by Diaz (29, Samsung) in 2025, and the previous record was 48 by Navarro in 2015. Austin's 39 is 11 fewer than Diaz. The calculation shows that to reach the foreign player record, he needs to hit 11 more in the remaining games.
Austin salary 1.1 million dollars, contract total increased by 1 million dollars in 3 years
LG official announcement Based on the 2026 season contract with signing bonus 300,000 dollars, salary1.1 million dollars, incentive 300,000 dollars for a maximum total of 1.7 million dollars. The first contract in 2023 season was 700,000 dollars, 2024 season was 1.3 million dollars. Over 3 years the maximum total increased by 1 million dollars, a 143% increase.
Austin was born October 14, 1993, a right-handed batter first baseman from Texas, USA. Debuted in MLB in 2018, played for the Cardinals and Giants, and put on LG uniform in December 2022. In KBO from 2023-2025, he recorded 395 games with a 0.315 batting average, 86 home runs, 322 RBIs, won the RBI title with 132 RBIs in 2024, and received the first base Gold Glove award in 2023 and 2024.
Austin OPS 1.098, 122 RBIs, 20 more than Kim Do-young
A batting average of 0.342 and OPS of 1.098 are Austin's records. 122 RBIs are 20 more than Kim Do-young's 102 RBIs. OPS is reported to be 1st in the league, but verification of the overall player rankings has not been completed. The regular season MVP and home run leader will be determined after the season ends.
The variable is in the schedule. On September 15, Xports News reporter Lee Woo-jin analyzed that Kim Do-young's period of joining the Asian Games national team could be an opportunity for Austin to pursue the home run lead. A 1-run difference can be reversed in one game.
LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop after the September 20 game said "Carasco did his role well as a starter" and pointed out the starter and bullpen as factors in victory, according toXports News. Austin has played 131 games, Kim Do-young has played 123 games. Season figures are values compared with inquiry as of 2026 September 21 05:00 and report basis as of September 20 game end.
Related official websites
- KBO official website — Official page with games schedule and team standings
- KBO official batter records — Original records of home runs, RBIs, and other category rankings
- KBO Austin official player record — Per-game performance and season accumulated records
- MLB Austin Dean official profile — Birth date and career statistics during big league era
Representative image · archive photo · photo in article is not a current game scene · photo=Wikimedia Commons(All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia, USA), CC BY-SA 2.0
Good resources to see together
·Erasing 6-year-old Ramos 38... LG Austin home run 39th, 1 ahead of Kim Do-young
·"Home run co-leader 27"... Austin shakes the KBO MVP table with OPS 1.082
Waisbol editor ·View more profile and articles