It’s impossible to play an entire season with your best members and full strength. From the very beginning of the season, variables pop up out of nowhere. The loss of a key player can be devastating and throw off the entire season plan. The team with the strongest backup, the team with the most depth, is bound to be the winner.
The Hanwha Eagles will wear hats with the number ’14’ on them. They remember the number of veteran Lee Myung-ki (36), who went down with an injury shortly after the start of the season, and vow to play their best. On 7 April, while batting seventh and designated hitter against SSG Landers, Lee severely injured his right ankle while stealing second base. He won’t be able to play until the second half of the season.
Between the injury to Lee Myung-gi and the poor performance and departure of foreign hitter Brian O’Grady, the Hanwha outfield has been unstable so far. It’s a position that has seen several players come and go without a clear owner.
Yoon Dae-kyung, who has been the ‘bullpen ace’ this season, was dropped from the first team roster ahead of the Samsung Lions game on the 2nd. He was playing catch before the game when he suddenly complained of shoulder pain.
In 19 games, he pitched 21⅓ innings with a 2-1 record and a 1.27 ERA. He started the season in the second team.
Yoon Dae-kyung had been a key part of the bullpen. Coincidentally, Hanwha’s bullpen collapsed in the eighth inning against the Samsung Lions on the 3rd. Starter Felix Peña had pitched seven innings of two-run ball, but the bullpen couldn’t hold up. Jung Woo-ram, Park Sang-won and Kim Seo-hyun took turns giving up four runs.
Veteran infielder Oh Sun-jin (34) was playing shortstop. He was dropped from the first team roster as expected on the 2nd. The previous day (1), Oh, who came in as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning against the Kiwoom Heroes, was hit in the face by a 144-kilometre-per-hour fastball thrown by opposing pitcher Kim Jun-hyung and taken to the hospital. Luckily, it was not a serious injury, but it was difficult to get him out of the game. He had recently been suffering from a bad hamstring and was unable to play normal defence. Park Jung-hyun and Lee Do-yoon, the backup infielders, played a bigger role.
Right-hander Kim Min-woo made his first start against the Samsung Lions on 2 June, giving up five runs. In each of his last three starts, he failed to complete four innings, adding to the pressure on the bullpen.
He slowed down in the fourth inning of a game against the SSG Landers on 14 May after being hit in the right elbow by a Guillermo Heredia hard hit. He returned to the team 12 days after being removed from the first team, but lost his stability due to the aftereffects.
D. Kim Min-woo is 1-5 with a 7.49 ERA in 10 games this season. 먹튀검증
It’s been two months since opening day. There are variables here and there. It’s June, and the ‘Plan B’ you’ve been preparing for becomes important.
Hanwha took over the reins after the end of last season and has been working hard to strengthen its depth.