Hanwha Eagles on the wing…leap to mid-table ‘in sight’
The momentum of the last-place Hanwha Eagles in the Korean baseball league is frightening. Yesterday (Nov. 27), they won their fifth straight KBO game, beating the KT Wiz 4-1 at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon.
It was the first time in 1,005 days since Hanwha won five straight games against the Lotte Giants in September 2020,
At that time, current head coach Choi Won-ho was still leading the team as acting head coach.
With 28 wins, four draws, and 37 losses, and a winning percentage of 4.3/1, Hanwha extended its lead over the last-place Samsung Lions to
3 games from the last-place Samsung Lions. The gap to fifth-place Doosan, which could qualify for fall baseball, is just four games.
Hanwha’s turnaround is being led by its “starters.
Peña has been the league’s ace in 10 games in May and June, going 5-1 with a 2.15 ERA,
Smith’s replacement, Sanchez, has been nothing short of spectacular, going 4-0 with a 1.48 ERA in eight games.
extraordinary performance. Add in Moon Dong-ju, who threw eight scoreless innings in his last game, and you have a 1-3 pitching staff that is as good as any in the KBO.
The batting order is also coming together.
All-Star selections Noh Si-hwan and Chae Eun-sung have been playing well in the center field,
Lee Jin-young has been hitting well at first base lately. O’Grady’s replacement
Nick Williams has yet to hit, but he is raising expectations with his quality batting.
“Lee Jin-young is showing confidence as the top hitter, and the batting order from 1 to 6 is organized,” said Son Hyuk, “and when Jung Eun-won starts batting, we are no match for other teams.”
■ Disciplined Ha Joo-seok…a ‘strength’ or a ‘burden’ for the team?
Hanwha is faced with a big decision. Ha Joo-seok’s 70-game suspension for driving under the influence of alcohol was announced today.
70-game suspension for drunk driving last November ends today (28th).
Ha Joo-seok is a ‘one-club man’ who has only played for Hanwha since joining the team in the first round of the 2012 draft.
As a local product, he was expected to follow in the footsteps of the ‘franchise’ and was even named captain last year.
However, he continued to disappoint fans with his slow growth and frequent controversies.
Prior to his DUI, in June of last year, his helmet hit then-head coach Clements in the back of the head after he threw a pitch out of frustration after striking out. He was heavily criticized by fans for bringing down the team’s atmosphere.카지노사이트
However, it is true that Ha’s return has helped the team in a “quantitative” way.
During Ha’s suspension, Oh Sun-jin, Park Jung-hyun, and Lee Do-yoon took turns at shortstop.
but neither their batting nor their defense was as good as Ha Jusuk’s.
That doesn’t mean he’ll be able to return right away, though, as he’s decided to “sincerely refrain” from playing.
He hasn’t played in any practice games with independent or university teams that don’t have a traveling restriction.
He spent his time working on his body with personal training and volunteering for outside activities like “rice tea.
“He hasn’t played at all, so he hasn’t gotten the feel of the game,” said Son Hyuk, “We’ll send him to the Futures League first, and then coordinate with coach Choi Won-ho when to call him up.”
It is also necessary to seek understanding from Hanwha fans, KBO fans, and the public before he can play.
He even wrote a self-reflection after his DUI, but public opinion is not yet favorable.
Fans said, “Please, I don’t want to see you again,” “When Ha Joo-suk insisted on throwing his helmet while drunk, the team atmosphere was
“I don’t want to see it again,” “I’m against it, but I think I’ll give it a chance,” “If you don’t come out in this situation, it’s a crime.
I’m a capital offense,” and so on.
The Hanwha Eagles are on a “real” upswing, something they haven’t experienced in recent years… The question is whether Ha Joo-seok’s return will be a boost or a burden.