Forget about the last sub-teams in seven years to advance to PS...The chance of being the number one living self-power, running to the end

Sep 15, 2025

Forget about the last sub-teams in seven years to advance to PS...The chance of being the number one living self-power, running to the end
The Hanwha players share the joy of winning. Daejeon = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.09.02/



Hanwha Eagles have been invited to the 'Autumn Festival" for the first time in seven years.

Hanwha won 10-5 against the Kiwoom Heroes at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 13th. There was only one magic number left in the fall baseball.

If NC and Samsung win, there was a possibility that Hanwha would be pushed to sixth place, but it became an impossible scenario because of their remaining confrontation. Hanwha has the magic number 1 remaining, but it will be able to secure fifth place even if it loses the remaining games.




Hanwha's last postseason was 2018, ranking third at the time. Although he experienced fall baseball for the first time in 11 years since 2007, he met the Nexen Heroes (currently Kiwoom) in the semi-playoff and allowed the series to be upgraded with 1 win and 3 losses.

It took 7 years to go back to autumn baseball. There were many twists and turns.

Hanwha, which finished ninth in 2019, also moved to the bottom in 2020, and Han Yong-deok, who led the fall baseball due to poor performance in June, stepped down from his position. He finished the 2020 season and appointed Carlos Subero for a full rebuild.




The grades have not changed much. Subero, who signed a three-year contract, remained at the bottom for the second consecutive year. Hanwha, which spent time nurturing prospects, broke up with coach Subero at the beginning of the 2023 season and signed with coach Choi Won-ho.

Choi did not lead a full season. He was appointed in the middle of 2023 and led 2024, but was eventually replaced in May without completing the season.

Hanwha's choice is 'Autumn Contractor' directed by Kim Kyung-moon. Manager Kim led a total of 10 fall baseballs out of 14 seasons while serving as the head coach for the Doosan Bears and the NC Dinos.




Forget about the last sub-teams in seven years to advance to PS...The chance of being the number one living self-power, running to the end
The game between the Lotte Giants and the Hanwha Eagles at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 10th. Hanwha Chae Eun-sung is cheering after hitting a timely hit in the top of the first inning with two outs and runners on second base. Busan = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.10/
In the meantime, he continued to invest steadily. Large FA investments of more than 5 billion won also continued. In 2022, he signed a six-year contract with infielder Chae Eun-sung for a total of 9 billion won to recruit an outside FA for the first time in seven years, and the following year, he signed a 4+2-year contract with infielder An Chi-hong for a total of 7.2 billion won. Ahead of this season, he signed a four-year total of 7.8 billion won with pitcher Um Sang-baek and four-year total of 5 billion won with Shim Woo-joon. In addition, Ryu Hyun-jin, who had been in the Major League after the 2024 season, signed an eight-year contract worth 17 billion won and returned to Hanwha, and began to gain strength toward 'Winnow'.

Forget about the last sub-teams in seven years to advance to PS...The chance of being the number one living self-power, running to the end
Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon is watching the training at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 2nd. Daejeon = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.09.02/
We waited for the right time, conducting both reconstruction and investment at the same time. It was the right time to open a new stadium this year. He showed his will to leap out of the image of a weak team and become a strong team.

Coach Kim Kyung-moon was the right person. At the beginning of the season, he was at the bottom of a terrible batting slump, but he waited for a rebound based on coach Kim's unique determination.

Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss became Hanwha's 15-win duo for the first time in 19 years, establishing themselves as a certain 'one-two punch'. In particular, Ponce made his name as the best foreign player in the KBO League, winning 17 consecutive games and breaking the record for the most strikeouts in a season.

The results of the rebuilding were also clear. Moon Dong-ju, the first designated pitcher in 2022, has grown into a 10-win pitcher, and Kim Seo-hyun, the first round in 2024, has become the representative finish of the KBO League with 30 saves. In addition, Moon Hyun-bin, who joined the team in the second round in 2023, is keeping a batting average of .300, the only regular at-bats in the team.

Forget about the last sub-teams in seven years to advance to PS...The chance of being the number one living self-power, running to the end
The match between the Hanwha Eagles and the Kiwoom Heroes at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 14th. Hanwha Moon Hyun-bin is catching his breath after hitting a hit. Daejeon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.14/
Forget about the last sub-teams in seven years to advance to PS...The chance of being the number one living self-power, running to the end
The game between the Hanwha Eagles and the Kiwoom Heroes at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 13th. Ponce cheers when Hanwha Liberato hit the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning. Daejeon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.13/
It was also a stroke of God to recruit Luis Liberato as an alternative foreign player when foreign hitter Esteban Floral fell out due to injury. Riverato hit .327 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs in 51 games, helping the batters properly.

As the batting came up based on a solid pitching staff, Hanwha quickly accumulated wins, including eight consecutive wins, 12 consecutive wins, and 10 consecutive wins.

The bold trade also paid off. Trade deadline 'No. 1 active hit'Son A-seop was recruited to further strengthen the batting lineup. Son Ah-seop hit hard with a batting average of 379 in September, while establishing himself as an example of a young player with his unique grit and skill.

Hanwha also went down to second place with LG's run in the second half, but it was looking higher, not just entering fall baseball by the end of the season, taking advantage of the possibility of ranking first.

Forget about the last sub-teams in seven years to advance to PS...The chance of being the number one living self-power, running to the end
The game between the Lotte Giants and the Hanwha Eagles at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 9th. Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon and Chae Eun-sung, who won, are delighted. Busan = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.09/
Until the 14th, the gap between the first-runner LG and the second-runner LG is 3.5 games. With one less game, there are three consecutive matches against LG. If LG wins the rest of the game, it will be tied with 88 wins, 3 draws and 53 losses. The tiebreaker will be held and the main character of the direct ticket to the Korean Series will be determined by a single match.

Hanwha and LG will play three consecutive games from the 26th. For Hanwha, it needs to maintain a three-game gap before the showdown to continue its chances of winning on its own.

A difficult but not impossible scenario. As there is still a chance, it will run fiercely until the end of the season.

Forget about the last sub-teams in seven years to advance to PS...The chance of being the number one living self-power, running to the end
The game between the Hanwha Eagles and the Kiwoom Heroes at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 13th. The winning Hanwha players are happy. Daejeon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.13/




This article was translated by Naver AI translator.