It’s not a fluke. Our offseason plan is coming together. We signed both internal and external free agents and made trades to improve our mound depth. We also hired a pitching coach who led the team to the title two years ago. In addition, with the pitching coach, a former pitcher, at the helm, the mound is becoming a mound where calculations can be made. This is the story of Hanwha, which is staring at more than a 4 percent chance of winning.
No one can take it easy now. 꽁머니지급 A 2-1 winning series against Hanwha is the norm, and a sweep is not the goal. If it comes down to a battle of the mounds, neither team is guaranteed to win, and that’s because they’ve built a quality mound. With a team ERA of 3.99, they are looking at their first three-run game in 16 years since 2007.
Felix Peña and Ricardo Sanchez form a one-two punch, and special rookie Dong-Joo Moon has rebounded from a rough patch. While the top of the lineup is competitive, the bullpen has a defensive edge.
Closers Park Sang-won, Kang Jae-min, Kim Bum-soo, Lee Tae-yang, Jung Woo-ram, and Han Seung-ju make up the winning formula. Park and Kang are looking for the most saves and most holds in a season in their respective careers. Lee Tae-yang, who returned to Hanwha via free agency, wears many hats, sometimes as a starter, sometimes as a long reliever throwing three or more innings. Han Seung-hyuk, who came to Hanwha from KIA in a trade, has allowed a total of one run in his last two starts. If Han Seung-hyuk can stay in the starting lineup, he could be an even stronger pitcher going forward.
This is somewhat expected. Han put on a fireballer show every day out of the bullpen during camp. There were several pitchers throwing 150+ mph. They may have fewer complete pitchers, but their young age group has created a blueprint for the entire team to improve through development. If the aggressive winning mentality emphasized by Coach Park Seung-min is transplanted to the pitchers, their strong pitches will have a synergistic effect.
After recording a hold to preserve the team’s victory against KT in Daejeon on April 27, Kang said, “From camp, I thought that we now have a lot of good pitchers. It was like, ‘Did we have so many pitchers?” “That created an atmosphere of competition. I think we’re naturally getting better and it’s showing in our results this season.”
He continued, “Coach Park Seung-min gives you confidence by saying, ‘If the manager and coaches believe in you and send you out on the mound and you don’t believe in yourself, you shouldn’t be able to do it.’ He studies a lot and gives a lot of good advice. Most importantly, he’s a side-arm pitcher like me, so he helps me a lot in terms of balance.”
Like KT’s pitchers, Hanwha’s pitchers are winning more games faster than before, which means fewer strikeouts. “Every pitcher is different,” Kang said. In my case, the ball basically has movement, so my coach tells me not to be afraid to throw strikes up the middle. It’s hard to get a hit even if you’re crowded, so he emphasizes that you have to play fast, and I think I’m naturally developing the habit of playing aggressively.”
In 2022, Hanwha led the league in strikeouts with 602. It was the third consecutive season in which the team allowed more than 600 walks,메이저토토 including 2021 (673) and 2020 (609). He left runners on base for nothing and gave up runs just as easily. It’s not good baseball, and it’s not winnable baseball. This season, he finished in last place with 269 strikeouts. As of the 27th, only NC, KIA, and SSG had more walks than Hanwha.
The first way for a team in the bottom half to make a leap is to stabilize the mound. Hanwha is on that path right now. “I hope we can make the league interesting,” Choi Won-ho said with a smile, without revealing his goals. When Hanwha becomes a team that everyone wants to pick apart, rather than a victory vending machine that dedicates wins to its opponents, the league is positively buzzing. If the joyful rebellion continues, they won’t have to settle for a four-in-a-row win rate. They are currently ninth in the standings, but only four games behind fifth-place Doosan.