It is an inexcusable failure in training. It’s not just looking at this season, it’s the result of looking back on the last few years. There are only two hitters who give fear in the lineup, and one of them is an outside recruit. This is the story of Hanwha, the only hitter who was properly nurtured inside was Noh Si-hwan.
It’s hitting the bottom completely. The position on the leaderboard is the same, but so is the hitting index. Until the match against Doosan in Jamsil on the 1st, the team batting average was 0.214 and the team OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) was 0.583, which is the overwhelming lowest in both categories. It falls short of the league average batting average of 0.256 and the average team OPS of 0.693.
Team adjusted scoring production (see wRC+ stats) is 68.2. This is lower than the wRC+ 79.0 of Sammi Superstars in 1982, which is considered the weakest in KBO league history. Hanwha hitters are making records that can and should never come out again.
If you look at the other lines one by one, you can see that the problem is serious. Except for Noh Si-hwan with a batting average of 0.316 OPS of 0.855 and Chae Eun-seong with a batting average of 0.306 OPS of 0.836, no hitter has posted a batting average of 0.250 OPS or more than 0.700. At least outfielder Lee Won-seok recorded a batting average of 0.224 and an on-base percentage of 0.406, but if Lee Won-seok also wore a different uniform, he could not be guaranteed a starter.
In other words, among the 9 spots in the Hanwha lineup, 7 spots excluding Noh Si-hwan and Chae Eun-seong are scarecrows. There is no first baseman who needs to add strength to the attack, and the corner outfielder’s batting is insignificant except for Chae Eun-seong. Aside from the center line of both offense and defense, there are no players in positions that should show an advantage in hitting.
Over the past few years, we have been constantly making changes and calling for rebuilding and nurturing new talent, but there are no results. Roh Si-hwan’s re-leap is also close to the result of receiving routines and training methods from Chae Eun-seong, rather than the club system. Chae Eun-seong made Noh Si-hwan erase the appearance of last year when he was in a hurry to hit and was afraid of strikeouts. In addition, he trained with himself from camp and refreshed his routine.
Except for Noh Si-hwan, young batters have had bad habits. Many batters stand at bat meaninglessly. There is no clear direction whether to actively swing the first ball according to the flow of the game and the condition of the pitcher, or to drag out the count fight for a long time. Always being dragged by the opposing pitcher, and when the count is driven up with two strikes, he makes a clumsy mid-timing swing and then withdraws in vain. A hitter who lacks initiative can never beat a pitcher.
In 2021, Hanwha organized a foreign coaching staff division centered on coach Carlos Subero. It was expected that the new players would make a collective leap by bringing together experts in fostering promising American players. However, there is also a regress rather than a leap forward.
Jung Eun-won, who stood out from the first year of joining in 2018, recorded a batting average of 0.283 and an on-base percentage of 0.407 in 2021, but has since been on a downward curve. In 2022, he had a batting average of 0.276 and an on-base percentage of 0.379, and his all-season average was only 0.209 and an on-base percentage of 0.287.
Hitting coach Johnny Washington, who was in charge of the hitting part in 2021, left for the United States the following year, and confusion may have occurred after that. Coach Washington emphasized the young players’ vision and their own hitting zone. He saw it as an essential element to recognize each swing trajectory and deal with the pitcher accordingly, but due to the replacement of the batting coach, he could not continue this.먹튀검증
In general, it takes more than 2,000 at-bats in a clear direction for a hitter to become a first-team player. Conversely, if the direction is not established, it is useless to digest 3, 4,000 at-bats. Fierce training and practice without recognizing what kind of hitter you are is not helpful at all.
The pitching staff is in a better situation than the fielding staff. However, this is also due to the top nomination right exercised by being at the bottom every season. Everyone envies Moon Dong-ju, Kim Seo-hyun, and Jang Hyun-seok or Hwang Jun-seo who can wear the Hanwha uniform the following year. However, no one is looking at the Hanwha team system. The target of envy is limited to the Young Guns.
No matter how good a draft is, it is of no use if it cannot be nurtured. Even if they don’t move up the leaderboard right away, there should be a few beasts who can give hope. If this continues, the beginning of the 2025 new ballpark era is bound to be dark for Hanwha.