Doosan’s fourth batter Kim Jae-hwan was not in the lineup on the day when he stopped KIA from winning 10 consecutive games and saved the spark of hope for the semifinals. 스포츠토토핫 I only watched my teammates lose to KIA ace Yang Hyun-jong on the bench. And what’s more cruel is that I didn’t feel Kim Jae-hwan’s vacancy at all.
Ahead of the match against KIA in Jamsil on the 8th, Lee Seung-yeop decided to exclude Kim Jae-hwan, who has a batting average of 174% in the last 10 games. Coach Lee said, I saw improvement when I practiced, but I haven’t been getting good results. Yang Hyun-jong is a left-handed pitcher, so some parts are excluded. We made a change to find a breakthrough in a bad situation for the team, he explained.
After the 2021 season, Kim Jae-hwan signed a large FA contract with his original team Doosan worth 11.5 billion won for a total of four years. However, in the first year of the contract, he suffered a slump in 128 games with 23 home runs and 72 RBIs, failing to meet the expectations of the club and fans. Doosan, where the fourth batter repeatedly remained silent, suffered the humiliation of ninth place for the first time in its foundation.
As soon as Lee took the helm in October last year, he put his life and soul into reviving Kim Jae-hwan, but Kim Jae-hwan is having an all-time career low season worse than last year. In 107 games, he batted 219 with 9 home runs and 41 RBIs.He is recording a poor performance of 672. He was once the home run king.He remains at 339, and in the second half of the year, he has become virtually useless for the batters amid a severe slump with a batting average of 163, two home runs and 12 RBIs in 30 games. WAR contribution to victory over substitute players is also serious at 0.66.
What is the problem. Lee Seung-yeop, Kim Han-soo, Goto Koji, and Kim Joo-chan are gathered, so why isn’t the fourth batter waking up. Coach Lee said, The slump is getting longer. It always takes a long time to wait for Kim Jae-hwan to regain his original appearance, he said. The team is frustrated, but he will also be frustrated. I’m trying a lot and using a lot of methods, but it hasn’t come out as a result yet. Even now, I continue to practice before and after the game with the batting coach, he said.
Expectations for Kim Jae-hwan have fallen. Until June, the season’s batting average was 266, but the slump has been prolonged to 11.1 percent in three games in September, following the monthly batting average of 17 percent in July and 15 percent in August. At this rate, it is highly likely that he will finish the season with the lowest batting average and few home runs after taking the lead. Rather, in the recent game, Kim Jae-hwan was seen making more active attacks with the missing lineup.
Nevertheless, the head coach’s expectations for Kim Jae-hwan have not been dampened. There is a belief that Kim Jae-hwan, who has a lot of experience and one shot, will show his presence if he heads to the postseason, including the last-minute fight for fifth place. Looking back at the first half, an easier victory came in the game where Kim Jae-hwan burst.
Coach Lee said, Kim Jae-hwan practices with his batting coach every day. He is probably the player who practices the most in our team, he said. I also give one-point lessons, but I don’t watch them one by one. You shouldn’t get complicated in your head because you have a batting coach. Nevertheless, I will help Kim Jae-hwan find his original skills quickly, he said, once again praying for the revival of 11.5 billion guns.