Hanwha Eagles won 3-1 against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 25th, enjoying the joy of winning a “sweep victory” against Doosan for the first time in 19 years and exactly 7020 days since the Cheongju showdown on June 4-6, 2005. It can be seen as a three-game winning streak that does not mean much, but the historic victory made at the end of the season, where the all-time ranking battle is taking place, was meaningful. This is because Hanwha has narrowed the gap with fifth-ranked KT Wiz to just one game by sweeping all three consecutive games against Doosan.메이저놀이터
Hanwha had an eventful beginning of the season. Ahn Chi-hong was acquired from the free agent market after the 2023 season for a total of 7.2 billion won (6.37 million U.S. dollars) for four plus two years, and he signed an eight-year, 17-billion-won contract with Korean Monster Ryu Hyun-jin who chose to return to the KBO League with the goal of winning the title of “Friendly” Hanwha after ending his Major League career. Hanwha has instantly emerged as a “dark horse.” However, the tide turned completely different at the beginning of the season.
Contrary to what was expected, Hanwha replaced Choi Won-ho and gave Kim Kyung-moon the baton as the 14th coach through a three-year contract worth 2 billion won. At the time, Hanwha said, “We judged that Kim Kyung-moon, who has abundant experience and experience, is the right person to grow the team,” and it was a moment to confirm the Hanwha team’s stance that it is time to produce results after a long “rebuilding.”
Hanwha continued to make an unconventional move to the point of changing its head, but Hanwha continued to make difficult moves, such as continuing to remain at the bottom, and the atmosphere began to change from the Incheon SSG Landers on the 16th to the 18th. The last three consecutive games that can change the atmosphere in a situation where the “possibility” is alive but there is not much hope of advancing to the postseason. At that time, Hanwha won 2-1 in its first showdown, then won 8-5 the next day and 7-1 in the last game of the series, winning three consecutive games and holding the opportunity of “rebound.”
Since then, Hanwha has continued its winning streak. After sweeping all three consecutive games against SSG, the team shared one win each against the NC Dinos, whom it met in Cheongju, and acquired a sweep for the first time in 19 years against Doosan Bears, which it met in Jamsil, and is now making its dream of becoming an “autumn baseball” a reality. Notably, it played only 118 games, fewer than the KT Wiz (122 games) and SSG Landers (121 games), which are competing in the semifinals, and thus it can sufficiently create “variables” for the rest of the season.
Behind this rise is a fun “official” hidden. In July, Hanwha released a blue-colored “Summer Blue Special Uniform” to improve performance. The Summer Blue Special Uniform is designed to provide high activity and differentiated resilience as it is a uniform worn directly to the game, featuring a material that is 90g lighter than the existing uniform and a cool and dry fit with excellent ventilation. And on July 9, it started wearing the Gocheok Kiwoom Heroes match.
Hanwha, who played in the Summer Blue special uniform, shared one win each against Kiwoom, and after that, when they wore the Summer Blue special uniform, their winning rate began to improve noticeably. Of course, it was the result of the players’ best performance at the stadium, but the atmosphere of “Hanwha wins if she wears the Summer Blue special” was formed. As a result, Hanwha increased the frequency of wearing the Summer Blue special, and as its performance improved, when it wore the Summer Blue special uniform on the 25th, it gave Doosan a sweep loss for the first time in 19 years, leading to a phenomenal 14 wins and 3 losses without a single losing series.
Manager Kim Kyung-moon also seemed to be aware of the situation. “The uniform performance is so good. Baseball is not supposed to make jinxes, but it has become an unexpected jinx,” Kim said before the match against Doosan Bears in Jamsil on Tuesday. “I don’t know about that. I think Hanwha is thinking something new because the baseball stadium is changing, but this is not my area. I am trying to motivate the players to do their best.”
Asked if he was conscious of the situation, Kim said, “I like it because it feels cool. The weather was very hot when this uniform came out, but I liked it because it was light. But I got better after winning. There is no other reason. Winning is good.” He said, “It wasn’t good because I changed my uniform to my previous home uniform. I can’t remember that,” but added, “I won a lot.”
It is true that Hanwha has significantly narrowed the gap with KT and SSG, which are competing for the best five teams, but it is not an easy step to be concerned about. Especially in baseball, where “face” exists, one must not let one’s guard down. This means that the game is not over until the end. Still, the mood is good. If Hanwha plays in the fall season by wearing the summer blue special uniform, it may create an image of players who will play in the post season as well.