Hanwha lost to the Kiwoom Heroes of the “2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League” at Gocheok Sky Dome on Monday. The match confirmed Hanwha’s frustration in the postseason. From the 2019 season to this season, Hanwha will not be able to stand on the fall stage for the sixth consecutive year. Hanwha achieved massive reinforcement of its capabilities during the off-season and even had to replace its head coach during the off-season, but there is no autumn for Hanwha.먹튀검증
It was a season with high expectations than ever. After going through a long rebuilding tunnel, Hanwha was selected as a candidate for the top five teams even before the season opened. With Noh Si-hwan, the home run king last year, and Moon Dong-ju, the winner of the Rookie of the Year award, Hanwha continued to strengthen its capability during the off-season. Ahn Chi-hong was recruited from the FA market, and Ryu Hyun-jin returned to Hanwha after ending his long career in the U.S. The Hanwha Eagles, who have strong capability, were also afraid of the opposing team. Hanwha also expressed confidence by using the slogan “Rebuilding Is Over” before the opening of the regular season.
Up until early in the season, Hanwha’s dark ages seemed to be coming to an end. In March, the team raced to No. 1 with seven wins and one loss and a 0.875 win rate. Hanwha has continued to perform well, feeling that spring will come to Hanwha. However, it has lost more days than it won in April. Notably, the collapse of the starting lineup was painful. Ryu Hyun-jin’s slump and Felix Peña and Moon Dong-joo’s pace declined, leading to a difficult battle. On top of that, Kim Min-woo is on the operating table. Amid starting pitchers’ sluggish performance and injuries, the team plunged from No. 1 to No. 8.
In the end, Hanwha pulled its sword out. It fired Choi Won-ho, then appointed Kim Kyung-moon. Hanwha, which replaced the head coach during the season, handed over the baton to Kim, a master and veteran coach. Kim Kyung-moon led the Korean national baseball team to a gold medal winning all nine games during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and he was the head coach of the Doosan Bears and the NC Dinos from 2004 to 2018, winning 896 games in 1,700 games. Hanwha left the team to a proven leader.
Since manager Kim Kyung-moon’s inauguration, Hanwha has gradually narrowed its margin of victory and loss, exerting hope for the fall baseball season. At one point, the team lagged behind the fifth-ranked KT Wiz by one game and the fourth-ranked Doosan Bears by 1.5 games. It was possible for the team to reach the fifth or fourth place. “I exercised hard during the spring camp to play catchphrase. The result of the exercise is to attract fans to fall baseball,” Kim said, expressing his aspiration to advance to the post season.
However, Hanwha’s dream of entering the fall baseball league went up in smoke. The starting lineup was cracked due to Moon Dong-ju’s departure from the team, and the team’s batting lineup also failed to stay silent. Hanwha’s last advance to the postseason is in the 2018 season. It ranked third in the regular season, but immediately fell to the bottom of the list the following year. It failed to advance to the postseason for six consecutive years until this year.
Hanwha had to promise another season. Manager Kim Kyung-moon is already planning for next season. Ace Ryu Hyun-jin will also not take the mound during the remaining regular season. Manager Kim said, “Ryu Hyun-jin pitched nearly 160 innings. Ryu said he wanted to take the mound again, but he just decided to end the season. Since his debut in the pro league, he has played a huge number of innings. Now I think I need to save myself more. I asked Hanwha to throw more when it achieves a good performance next year.”
It is the 2024 season for Hanwha, which had high expectations more than ever. As such, fans must be disappointed. Manager Kim Kyung-moon predicted “hellish training” during the closing camp and spring camp. Attention is focusing on whether Hanwha will be able to fly in the 2025 season.