Honestly, the coach didn't solve the game, but he won. The real reason why Hanwha became stronger
May 03, 2025
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Before and after early April, the Hanwha Eagles became a completely different team. It completely erased its past weaknesses, showing a formidable background against any team.
On April 9, Hanwha's team ranking was 10th. At the beginning of the opening, the pace did not rise, hovering at the bottom, and it was sagging to the 10th place. However, as the lineup began to revive and the bullpen stabilized, it ran on a winning streak.
Starting on April 9, it is one loss after three consecutive wins, two losses after eight consecutive wins, and five consecutive wins again. In terms of performance since April 9, Hanwha has a commanding 0.842 winning percentage with 16 wins and 3 losses in 19 games. It is by far the first place among the 10 clubs.
In the match against the KIA Tigers in Gwangju on the 2nd, he clearly showed why Hanwha is strong now. Hanwha, which was dragged 0-1 due to an early loss, succeeded in turning it 2-1 with Lee Jin-young's come-from-behind two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning. In the bottom of the fifth inning, he allowed a 2-2 tie by losing again, but he did not allow a comeback after overcoming many crises.
In particular, bullpen pitchers' scoreless pitching was impressive. After starting Um Sang-baek, Kim Bum-soo, Park Sang-won, Han Seung-hyuk, and Kim Seo-hyun, Kim Jong-soo and Cho Dong-wook caught two out-counts, and the youngest Jung Woo-joo played the last role. Jung Woo-joo, who took the mound in the bottom of the 10th inning with two outs and runners on the first and second bases, showed a strong heart to strike out pinch hitter Byun Woo-hyuk.
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Jung Woo-ju's redemption victory. He won his first professional debut game against KIA on the same day. He was a rookie who was shaken by three runs in ⅓ innings against KT Wiz on April 27, the previous appearance, but he also grew again by showing that he can work in a one-run game.
If you look at Hanwha's recent game, the new and old harmony between veterans and rookies is unfolding, and the balance of pitching and hitting is in harmony, showing a team that is unlikely to lose even though it is losing. It's a completely different background from the past.
Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon also recognized the players' power. Coach Kim said, `In fact, the manager did not play well yesterday (2nd). I thought it was a one-point game, and I should have bunt it quickly, but I pushed it with my power with the thought that 'we can hit this much'. It didn't work out smoothly. In that case, there are many games that fall to the opponent," he said, but thanked the players for winning well even in overtime.
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Jung Woo-joo's special talent stands out even for the veteran coach who has watched the growth of many players. Manager Kim Kyung-moon said, `The strength of this friend is that even though he throws it without much force, it takes more than 150 kilometers of spin to come in. From the batter's point of view, he must have thought it was a fastball and hit it (no). There are advantages to it."
Currently, Hanwha's team performance, which is the lone runner-up, is pressing LG, which is in first place, by one game. "We have to win some, too. I was down there a lot, but I need to win more. The Hanwha fans like it a lot because they win these days,' Kim said, laughing, adding, `KIA will definitely go up. Everyone will be in a circle on the ranking table, and the team that doesn't lose strength as it goes to the end will go up later. One game now and one game are important, but in the end, key players should not be hurt later. It is also important to keep the atmosphere from falling when a losing streak comes. Baseball is not as easy as it sounds. He stressed the most important part.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
