I spent 100 billion won for 6 years! Lotte X Hanwha. Will fall baseball be possible together for the first time in 26 years…South Korean baseball needs +α growth engine to hit 10 million
Mar 19, 2025
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Will the Lotte Giants and Hanwha Eagles be able to make the fall baseball stage in the 2025 season. Professional baseball is set to open a new season on the 22nd with a mixture of expectations and anxiety.
Baseball's enthusiasm has gradually decreased since the previous 8.4 million spectators (2017), and it was seen a few years ago that the record of the largest number of spectators was far from being hit directly by COVID-19.
However, the atmosphere changed as President Hu Jie-yeon's attempt to narrow the distance from his fans, which he said was a great success. It surpassed 10 million spectators for the first time last year, gaining the upper hand in competition with other sports such as soccer as well as entertainment such as movies.
The number 10 million gives a special resonance to the baseball community, just like the movie '10 million.' It is a symbolic number that shows that beyond the sport of professional baseball, 'watching professional baseball' has become a universal playground.
After a year full of joy and emotion, the number of 10,887,705 now comes as a burden. Will professional baseball be able to continue its momentum of 10 million spectators this year.
Baseball officials cite the advancement of local teams with a solid fan base as a driving force for professional baseball to grow one step further. This is because the strength of the Seoul metropolitan area has been evident recently.
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As both teams are likely to advance to the 5th round with solid power, if Lotte and Hanwha advance to the 5th round together this year, the autumn baseball game, which has been led by the metropolitan team, will be reversed. It can lead to the return of old fans due to the rise in the performance of the two teams, the entry of a new fan base, as well as the additional willingness of other teams that are behind and the consolidation of fan sentiment. The 10 clubs are enemies on the ground, but they are partners outside the ballpark.
Lotte and Hanwha are two teams in professional baseball 'lower end of life'. Lotte and Hanwha's last fall baseball games were in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Winning the Korean Series is a little further away. Lotte in 1992 and Hanwha in 1999.
LG, which used to be a low-ranking regular, won the Korean Series two years ago and became a stable team to advance to autumn baseball. The KT Wiz also won the Korean Series in 2021 and shows their faces on the stage every fall.
In particular, Hanwha and Lotte have never entered autumn baseball together in the 21st century. The last time was in 1999, when the two teams faced each other in the Korean Series. If it is done this year, it will be the first time in 26 years.
The method the two teams chose to boost their rankings was a steady investment. In the 2020s, the two teams spent more than 50 billion won on the FA alone, adding external recruitment and internal retention.
Hanwha has continued to make mammoth investments, including Ryu Hyun-jin (17 billion won in eight years), Jung Woo-ram (39 billion won in four years), Choi Jae-hoon (5.4 billion won in five years), Chae Eun-seong (9 billion won in six years), Lee Tae-yang (2.5 billion won in four years), Ahn Chi-hong (7.2 billion won in four years and two years), Um Sang-baek (7.8 billion won in four years) and Shim Woo-joon (five billion won in four years).
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The baseball team made a comeback to major leaguer Ryu Hyun-jin last year, and boldly recruited matchmaker Kim Kyung-moon even though he was in the season. This year, the new stadium Hanwha Life Ball Park will also open. It's literally a `massive offensive.'
Will he be successful in baseball. First of all, it is impressive that the league has established a top-class starting team. With Ryu Hyun-jin at the center, foreign players Ponce, Weiss, and Moon Dong-joo added FA Um Sang-baek, a powerful starting team in terms of ball power and presence was completed. The bullpen, from Kim Seo-hyun to Joo Hyun-sang, is also tight. If No. 4 hitter Noh Si-hwan recovers, it is expected that the batting lineup, which was ranked 9th in on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) last year, will also gain strength.
Lotte also spent more than 50 billion won on FA since 2020, including Park Se-woong (non-FA extension contract, 5 years and 9 billion won), Yoo Kang-nam (four years and 5 billion won), An Chi-hong (four years and 5.6 billion won), Jeon Joon-woo (four years and 4.7 billion won), Lee Dae-ho (two years and 2.6 billion won), Han Hyun-hee (four years and 4 billion won), Noh Jin-hyuk (four years and 5 billion won) last winter, Kim Won-joong (four years and 5.4 billion won) and Koo Seung-min (two years and 2.1 billion won) after 2020.
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The two teams' spring day atmosphere was contrasting. After one draw and two losses, Hanwha won five consecutive games, ranking second in the exhibition game after KT (6-1). On the other hand, Lotte was hampered by its poor scoring ability and recorded two wins, two draws and four losses, tied for eighth with the Samsung Lions.
The mainstream of baseball is that both the Hanwha Eagles and the Lotte Giants are somewhat inferior to the level of 5 at this point in time. However, the reason baseball is loved is that unexpected variables emerge every year and the trend changes during the 144 games. If Hanwha and Lotte revive, not only the reproduction of 10 million spectators but also another new record is not a dream.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
