“In March, when we meet again, we have to be stronger and meet again.”
The Hanwha Eagles finished eighth in the 2024 season with 66 wins, two draws and 76 losses. “Fall baseball has failed for six consecutive years since 2018.” This is Hanwha’s cold-blooded report card.
There were many twists and turns this season. Ahn Chi-hong was recruited as an FA, and Ryu Hyun-jin returned from his major league career. As there are certain reinforcing factors in pitching and hitting, expectations for performance have been higher than ever.
He started the game with confidence even at the club level, declaring, “The rebuilding is over.” He recorded eight wins and two losses in 10 games after the season opened, and started the game with the best record.
However, Hanwha experienced a fall afterwards. The pitching and batting were out of alignment, and the newly joined power seemed to need an adaptation period. To make matters worse, there were even certain injuries such as Kim Min-woo.
In the end, Hanwha parted ways with Choi Won-ho, who started the season, and appointed “veteran” manager Kim Kyung-moon. Kim has a splendid career. He won the title at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and led 10 autumn baseball games during 14 seasons while serving as the head coach of the Doosan Bears and the NC Dinos.
When Kim was appointed, the Hanwha Eagles ranked eighth with 21 wins, 1 draw and 29 losses. Kim aims to recover the 50% win rate and achieve fall baseball.
In early September, Hanwha successfully trailed the fifth-ranked KT Wiz by up to one game. However, the batting cycle declined once again, and even Moon Dong-ju, who had shown good performance on the mound in the second half, suffered an injury, ending the season in eighth place.
In the midst of the postseason, Hanwha quickly prepared for the following.
For now, the team has started to make changes to its coaching staff. With Kang Dong-woo offering to resign, the team has hired former NC Dinos coach Kim Min-ho as its first team hitting coach. Kim worked with the team when he was at NC. Hanwha plans to make additional changes to its coaching staff.
At the same time, the team also started finishing training early.
Ahead of the final game of the season, which was played when the ranking was confirmed, head coach Kim said, “I should be able to keep my promise to the fans, but I’m sorry I couldn’t keep it this year,” adding, “I only think that I should be stronger in March when I sweat and try hard with the players with the heart of starting again at the end of the season.”
Rookie players will also join the team in mid-October to decide whether they will join the team or not. “I think I will be able to see them practice for about a week. I think I will be able to take some of the rookie players to the wrap-up camp,” Kim said.
There are no exceptions, ranging from veteran to youngest. “Even players with injuries can come here and get treatment. The season ended early because of lack of something and weakness,” Kim said. “Since we failed to advance to the post season, we need to prepare more. Players who are not feeling well need to rest and receive treatment, and since we have to weigh more, we need to strengthen our skills for next year,” Kim said, signaling a busy autumn season. 안전놀이터
