“It is true that Hanwha has gained a lot of players due to its successive investments.” “Every club knows that it is a team that is growing more and more.”꽁머니
The Hanwha Eagles, which used to be at the bottom, can be forgotten. Coaches who have newly established ties with Hanwha this year expressed their confidence for a reason. The three players, including Operational Kim Jae-geol, Base Coach, Kim Woo-seok, Outfielder Park Jae-sang, and Base Coach, agreed that Hanwha is never a team that other clubs can easily deal with.
Last year, Hanwha finally got out of the bottom spot for the third consecutive year. After ranking third in 2018, Hanwha hovered at the bottom for a whopping five years from 2019 to last year. It ranked ninth in 2019, 10th in 2020-2022, and 9th again last year. Last season, Hanwha did its best to advance to the end of the season by beating out the eighth-ranked Samsung Lions (61 wins, 82 losses and 1 draw) but had to finish the season in ninth place, trailing Samsung by 0.5 game with 58 wins, 80 losses and 6 draws.
There were no setbacks, however. Hanwha was full of hope than any other baseball team that failed to join the league in the fall last year. Roh, who was a big hitter, became the home run king and RBI king at the same time with 31 home runs and 101 RBIs, signaling the birth of a new fourth hitter for the Hanwha Eagles. He also had his first golden glove (third baseman) in his life.
Shin Seong Moon Dong-ju appeared on the mound. Moon Dong-ju became the first Korean pitcher to break the 160-kilometer-per-hour barrier, drawing attention as the ace to reveal the future of not only the Hanwha Eagles but also the Korean baseball. Moon Dong-ju garnered the Rookie of the Year trophy for the first time in 17 years after Ryu Hyun-jin in 2006, with eight wins and eight losses in 23 games, 118 ⅔ innings, 95 strikeouts and an ERA. In addition to Moon, there are more young guns preparing to unleash their potential. This year’s first round rookie Hwang Joon-seo, Kim Seo-hyun, Kim Ki-joong, and Nam Ji-min are looking for chances.
When young players were growing up well, the team began collecting veterans who would serve as umbrellas. Ahead of last season, Chae Eun-sung signed a six-year, 9 billion won contract with the team, which was a hot start of investment. This winter, he signed a four-plus-two-year contract with infielder An Chi-hong for a total of 7.2 billion won, and succeeded in collecting big-fish fielders once again. He also signed FA contracts with pitchers who love his team, including Lee Tae-yang and Jang Min-jae, and brought in veteran outfielder Kim Kang-min in the second draft, which was revived last year, to gather players who could serve as role models for positions lacking in his team. Reinforcing starting pitchers in Korea is the last key, but it is uncertain whether he can continue his contract with Ryu Hyun-jin, who is agonizing between staying in the Major League and returning to Korea. Still, Hanwha has completed the formation of its squad so that it can harmonize with new and old players.
After the end of last season, Hanwha decided that in order for the team to become stronger, it needed to take care of details in defense, operation, and base running parts, and recruited Kim Jae-geol, Kim Woo-seok, and Park Jae-sang. General manager Sohn Hyuk and head coach Choi Won-ho joined forces to lead the “Mosin.”
The three coaches are currently leading the first team’s training at Melbourne Ball Park in Victoria, Australia. They watched the players’ training for about 13 days, and judged that each player’s potential and potential were as high as they had seen from the outside.
Coach Kim Jae-geol said, “Honestly from the outside, it is true that Hanwha Eagles’ successive investments have increased the composition and pool of players,” while coach Park Jae-sang said, “Every club knows that it is a team that is growing more and more.” Some fans must have suspected the players’ skills because of the poor results, but when I met the players in the closing camp, I felt that individual skills were not much different from other teams. However, there were many players who lacked experience, so I was a little disappointed in the details of when I had to play according to the situation or when I had to be aggressive and not. It is a team that still has a lot of good players who are young and have potential.”
Then, he pointed out the points to be supplemented in each part. Coach Kim Jae-geol said, “Last year, we showed many possibilities, but the operation, the base running, and the details of the situation were somewhat disappointing. The general manager and the coach also asked us to make up for that, and I thought I could also help the team in that area.”
“I met the players and talked a lot since the last closing camp, but no one knew that we were disappointed in the details. I think it will probably be easier to improve because everyone knows our problems and we are certain to make up for them. However, what I felt during my long coaching career is that players need confidence to make their play easier. So I ask the players to play with confidence because I will take responsibility. Of course, it would be nice if it develops dramatically in a short period of time, but that’s actually difficult, so I will try to create a more mature situation little by little over a long period of time,” he said.
Coach Park Jae-sang said, “I’m focusing on improving my ability to play games, not just playing, throwing and running baseball. As mentioned earlier, each player has excellent abilities. This is why the sense of stability that comes from experience and mental strength is more important than technical skills. The most important thing to solve that problem is positive energy. If the result is not good, the mood can be down, but baseball games are played every day, so I want to give positive energy to players.”
Regarding the evaluation that Hanwha’s weakness is defense, coach Kim Woo-seok said, “I can say for sure. There is nothing technically lacking or inferior to our players. They are still young and somewhat inexperienced, so they lack stability due to poor management in the game. Individuals’ abilities are obviously great.”