LG's Austin Homerless for 10 Straight Games… Third With 39 Home Runs, Second in RBIs in MVP Race
Austin went 1 for 4 against SSG on Oct. 1, and LG lost 5-6 to get swept in the three-game series. Over the last 10 games, Austin has no home runs and 1 RBI, and ranks third in home runs and second in RBIs.
Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.
On Oct. 1, LG and SSG played a regular-season game. According to Financial News, SSG won 6-5. In the one-run game, Austin Dean (32) went 1 for 4 with one walk. There was no home run and no RBI. With the loss, LG was swept in the three-game series against SSG.
There is one question at issue: is Austin's recent slump a sign of being pushed out of the title race, or is the gap still one that can be overturned? The numbers support both views. Looking only at the last 10 games, the power has dried up. Looking at the whole season, Austin is third in home runs and second in RBIs (as of 00:00 on Oct. 2, 2026).
1 for 4 against SSG; Austin has 0 home runs and 1 RBI over the last 10 games
SPOTV News cross-checked against KBO records shows that Austin went 8 for 30, a .267 average, in the 10 games played from Sept. 15 to Oct. 1. The numbers over that stretch are 0 home runs and 1 RBI. LG is third at 75 wins, 1 tie and 60 losses, but has lost five straight (as of 00:00 on Oct. 2, 2026).
Compared with the full season, the drop is even more striking. The KBO home run standings list a season batting average of 0.340, while the player's basic page lists 0.341. Either way, the average over the last 10 games is more than 0.07 lower than the season average. Last year's record, as reported by Star News, was 31 home runs and 95 RBIs in 116 games. This year Austin already has 8 more home runs and 27 more RBIs.
Austin Third With 39 Home Runs, 2 Behind Co-Leaders Hillyard and Kim Do-yeong
| Rank | Player | Team | Home runs | Difference from Austin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hillyard | KT | 41 | +2 |
| 1 | Kim Do-yeong | KIA | 41 | +2 |
| 3 | Austin | LG | 39 | — |
| 4 | Kang Baek-ho | Hanwha | 33 | -6 |
| 5 | Na Sung-bum | KIA | 30 | -9 |
The distance to the two co-leaders is 2 home runs. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop described it as being "within sight." The counterargument is also clear: if the homerless streak of the last 10 games continues, even a 2-homer gap is by no means close. The gap below is comfortable, at 6 home runs over fourth-place Kang Baek-ho.
| Rank | Player | RBIs | Difference from Austin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hillyard | 127 | +5 |
| 2 | Austin | 122 | — |
| 3 | Diaz | 121 | -1 |
RBIs are a different story. Austin is 5 behind leader Hillyard and 1 ahead of third-place Diaz. Austin is chasing the player above while being chased from below. The KBO's RBI sorting page still shows Hillyard at 126 RBIs. The main standings and SBS's Oct. 1 report say 127 RBIs. This article follows the more recent figure, 127.
Hillyard (32) debuted in the KBO this year. Hillyard, who had a career MLB batting average of 0.218, hit 10 home runs and drove in 27 runs in September alone. Kim Do-yeong (23) hit 41 home runs, passing Sanders' 40 home runs in 1999 to set a new Tigers single-season home run record.
Austin's Salary Is $1.1 Million, Total Contract Up to $1.7 Million
Austin was born on Oct. 14, 1993, and is from Spring, Texas, in the United States. Austin debuted in the majors with Miami in 2018, and has a career MLB record of a 0.228 average with 11 home runs. After joining LG in 2023, Austin recorded a 0.315 average, 86 home runs and 322 RBIs in 395 games over three seasons (per LG). In 2024, Austin won the RBI title with 132 RBIs and also won two Golden Gloves.
Xports News, citing LG's announcement, reported that this year's contract consists of a $300,000 signing bonus, a $1.1 million salary and $300,000 in incentives. The total is up to $1.7 million. The guaranteed amount, signing bonus plus salary, is $1.4 million. Comparing salary alone, Austin earns $400,000 more than Hillyard.
| Player | Team | 2026 salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | LG | $1.1 million | Total up to $1.7 million |
| Hillyard | KT | $700,000 | Total $1 million |
| Kim Do-yeong | KIA | 250 million won | Down 50% from 500 million won the previous year |
Segye Ilbo, in its Sept. 25 analysis, judged that if Hillyard secures the home run and RBI titles along with the team's regular-season championship, Hillyard could receive a favorable evaluation. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop thought Austin was still in the running for both titles.
Austin managed no home runs and 1 RBI over the last 10 games. As of 00:00 on Oct. 2, Austin is 2 behind the home run leader and 5 behind the RBI leader. Results of later games are not reflected. Before the Oct. 1 game against SSG, Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "We have to get RBIs, and the home runs are within sight too."
Related official sites
- KBO official records and standings — Check batting records and rankings by category
- KBO Austin player record — Game-by-game detailed stats and season totals
- LG Twins official website — Team schedule and official announcements
- MLB Austin Dean official profile — Career stats from the major league years
Featured image · Archive photo · Not an on-site photo of the current game in the article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia, USA), CC BY-SA 2.0
Related reading
· "27 Home Runs, Tied for First"… Austin, With a 1.082 OPS, Shakes Up the KBO MVP Race
· Erasing Ramos' Six-Year-Old 38, LG's Austin Hits No. 39, 1 Behind Kim Do-yeong
· "Carrasco Did His Job Well"… Austin Has 39 Home Runs, 1 Behind Kim Do-yeong's 40
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