In position.
After finishing first in the preseason, the Hanwha Eagles started the season more motivated than ever. They brought in outside free agents Chae Eun-sung (33), Lee Tae-yang (33), and Oh Sun-jin (34) to add experience. The coaching staff was overhauled, and there were high hopes for the development of young players such as Moon Dong-joo and Noh Si-hwan, while new foreign talent, right-hander Butch Smith and outfielder Brian O’Grady, excited Hanwha. At the time.
But the team hit rock bottom shortly after the start of the season. They lost three straight games to open the season, then won their first game, then lost three more. In April, they lost three in a row, then five in a row.
In 24 games in April, they won 6, drew 1, and lost 17 for a winning percentage of 2.61. They were the only team in the KBO to have a double-digit winning percentage. Team batting average of 2.17 and ERA of 4.36.
They fell even further than the previous season when they finished last. In April 2021, we went 9-14 with a winning percentage of 3.9-1, and in 2022, we went 9-16 with a winning percentage of 3.6. It was a nightmarish opening month that I don’t want to relive.
But the second half of the year, April, made me look back.
Hanwha lost 11-4 against the Doosan Bears in Daejeon on the 11th, snapping a five-game losing streak (including one tie). In nine games in August, they won one game (one tie and seven losses). The 1-3 starters Felix Peña, Ricardo Sanchez, and Moon Dong-ju won one of the six games they pitched. On Aug. 3, Peña started against Doosan, allowing one run in 6 1/3 innings in a 5-2 win. It was his only win in August.
The batting slump is disappointing, but the starting pitching is even worse. On August 8-9, the “one-two punch” of Sanchez and Peña suffered back-to-back blowouts. Sanchez gave up seven runs (six earned) in five innings, and Peña gave up eight runs in 4⅓ innings.
Both starters fell apart early in the game and lost momentum. It’s one thing if it’s a temporary lapse in form, but if it happens again, it’s not a good sign.
The fourth and fifth starters need to be overhauled. Jang Min-jae, who returned to the starting lineup from the Future Team (second team), was sent back down.
C. Han Seung-hyuk, who started against Doosan on the 11th, gave up 5 runs (4 earned) in 2 innings. When the “one-two punch” falters and the fourth or fifth starter collapses, it’s hard to avoid a bullpen collapse. It could be irreparable and send them back to the bottom. Kim Seo-hyun, a high-level pitcher who is on the verge of joining the starting staff, made his third start against Doosan on Aug. 11 and gave up four runs on three hits and four walks in 2⅔ innings.메이저놀이터
In nine games in August, starting pitchers pitched 40⅓ innings with a 6.69 ERA.
They went 34-44 with a winning percentage of 4.05. Finished the first half of the year with a winning percentage of 5%. In the second half, I went 4-1, tied 11 games, with a winning percentage of 2.06. That’s similar to their win percentage in April, which they don’t want to revisit.
Hanwha lost 8th place to the Samsung Lions on the 11th. They’re in ninth place, two games ahead of the last-place Heroes. It’s a situation we don’t want to think about.
The memory of the eight-game winning streak in June and July is fading.