“After (Yang) Eui-ji left, the check became the most severe.”
Kim Jae-hwan (35, Doosan Bears) hit 44 home runs in 2018 and became the home run king. It is the first time in 20 years since Tyrone Woods (OB, 42 homers) in 1998 that a hitter who uses Jamsil Stadium as his home has become the home run king.
From the time he joined, he was expected to be a ‘Geopo Prospect’ with his innate power, and he hit 30 home runs from 2016 and walked the path of the KBO League’s best Geopo, and he fully bloomed in 2018.
It was thought to change the home run king game, but in 2019 Kim Jae-hwan stayed with 15 home runs. He seemed to be resurrected with 30 homers in 2020, but after that, the same “explosive power” as in 2018 did not come out.
Coincidentally, Yang Eui-ji’s transfer and decline coincided. Yang Eui-ji obtained FA qualification after the 2018 season and signed a 4-year contract with the NC Dinos for a total of 12.5 billion won. 안전놀이터
From 2015 to last year, Doosan steadily hitters left the team. Not only Yang Eui-ji, but also Kim Hyun-soo, Oh Jae-il, Park Gun-woo, and Choi Joo-hwan, as well as long hitters, left out the weight of Kim Jae-hwan in the center of the batting line.
There are many factors to reduce home runs, such as adjusting the coefficient of restitution of the official ball, but the loose lineup came more difficult for Kim Jae-hwan. Among them, Yang Eui-ji’s transfer was the biggest factor. Kim Jae-hwan also said, “It has definitely become difficult to deal with pitchers since (Yang) Eui-ji left.”
Hitting coach Koji Goto, who served as batting coach in 2018, explained, “Kim Jae-hwan played an outstanding role in 2018. The reason why he was able to do such an active job was because Yang Eui-ji was the fifth hitter.”
At that time, Yang Eui-ji played a supporting role in the center batting line with Kim Jae-hwan, hitting 23 homers with a batting average of 3.5 8 li.
In 2021, Seok-hwan Yang came as a trade and hit 28 homers, becoming a new force for the other line, but last season, sluggishness interlocked and we had a hard time together.
In 2023, Jaehwan Kim has a reliable umbrella. Doosan succeeded in returning with Yang Eui-ji by signing a 4+2 year total of 15.2 billion won contract. Park Jeong-won, the owner of the team, did his best to the extent that he personally stepped forward.
Yang Eui-ji showed off his strength with a batting average of 2.8 3 and 20 homers in 130 games last year.
Another environment has been prepared to recall Kim Jae-hwan’s good memories of 2018. Yang Seok-hwan, who was injured due to an injury, also pledged to rebound with great pride. Also, coach Goto, who worked together in the best days, joined Doosan this year.
There are also new reinforcements. Director Lee Seung-yeop was newly appointed. Coach Lee is the main character with the most home runs in KBO league history. Coach Lee, who knows the ‘home run taste’ better than anyone else, emphasized the sense of responsibility as the main hitter while interviewing Kim Jae-hwan after taking office.
Doosan led the league in 2018 with a batting average of 300 (0.309), the only one in the league, and also hit 191 home runs.
Reconstruction of combinations that can recall the best times. The revival of the center batting line, which was sluggish last year, is the key for Doosan to rise again.