Free agent Yang Seok-hwan remains… Doosan’s batting task is to ‘revive Kim Jae-hwan’

Baseball manager Lee Seung-yeop sees a “right-right cleanup trio” with left-handed slugger Kim Jae-hwan batting fourth and right-handers Yang Seok-hwan and Yang Ji in front of him as the framework for the 2024 season.

For now, Lee’s plan is more than 50 percent complete.

Yang signed a free agent contract with Doosan on March 30 for 4+2 years and up to 7.8 billion won.

Coach Lee Seung-yup was more than happy to see him stay.

“I called the coach after signing the contract. I loved the sound of his voice,” he laughed.

Traded to Doosan from the LG Twins in 2021, Yang hit .267 with 69 home runs and 236 RBIs over the last three years (2021-2023).

He was third in home runs during that time. Only Choi Jung (90 home runs-SSG Landers) and Jose Pirela (73 home runs-Samsung Lions) have hit more home runs than Yang.

With Yang Seok-hwan sticking around, Doosan has succeeded in establishing a core batting lineup that is not outclassed by other clubs.

What remains to be seen is the rebound of Kim Jae-hwan.

Kim Jae-hwan left for the United States on May 25.

In order to train with Kang Jeong-ho, who has played in the KBO and Major League Baseball and currently runs a baseball academy.

Kim Jae-hwan accepted manager Lee Seung-yeop’s request and participated in the Nov. 1-23 wrap-up camp. It’s unusual for a starter to complete a full camp.

Kim hit 44 home runs and 133 RBIs in 2018, winning two division titles and being named the regular season Most Valuable Player (MVP).

However, his home runs have since dropped to 15 in 2019, 30 in 2020, 27 in 2021, 23 in 2022, and just 10 this year.

His batting average was .220, his lowest since becoming a starter.

Lee Seung-yeop, a former “national hitter” who played in Nippon Professional Baseball for eight years and still holds the record for most home runs in Korean baseball (467), served as Kim Jae-hwan’s “dedicated instructor” during this year’s final camp.

“I talked more with Kim Jae-hwan during the final camp than I did during the entire regular season this year,” Lee said. “He told me his worries, we diagnosed problems together, and we got to know each other. It’s not easy for a veteran to complete a training camp. I’m very grateful to Jae-hwan.”

“It definitely paid off. I could see that he was struggling. It was probably harder than it looks.” “Training volume is not everything, 바카라사이트 but it takes a lot of training for the body to remember good form. While overcoming his physical limitations, the bad memories that plagued him must have disappeared.”

Kim Jae-hwan spends his off-season training with Kang Jung-ho in Los Angeles, USA.

Some players have benefited from the Kang Jung-ho effect.

Son Ah-seop (NC Dinos) hit just .277 last year and spent the offseason training with Kang. This year, Son is batting .339, topping the league in that category.

Kim Jae-hwan, who trained one-on-one with the “National Hitter” Lee Seung-yeop during the final camp, gets help from “former big leaguer” Kang Jeong-ho during the off-season when he can’t train with the team’s coaching staff.

This year, Doosan finished tied for third in the division with 100 team home runs and fifth with a .373 batting average.

Yang Seok-hwan (21 homers, 0.454 on-base percentage) and Yang Ji (17 homers, 0.474 on-base percentage) did their part, but Kim Jae-hwan (10 homers, 0.331 on-base percentage) struggled.

Coach Lee Seung-yeop, as well as Yang and Yang, are confident in Kim’s resurgence.

“Next year, Jae-hwan will work harder with his brother to improve the team’s ranking, which was only fifth this year,” Yang said.

“Jae-hwan’s slump is over this year,” said Yang Ji, “The coach has stepped up to the plate, and my friend Jung Ho is also helping him. I have no doubt in his resurgence.”

If the manager and his teammates get their wish, the Doosan bats could rise to the top of the KBO. 온라인카지노사이트