“Trust the players behind you rather than strikeouts”…Veteran Ahn Jung-ma’s words that reminded young pitchers of the Eagle Corps.

“Samjin is important, but I hope (the pitchers) trust the defenders behind me.”

The rise of the “Eagle Corps” Hanwha Eagles is unusual. Recently, it has been making a strong sensation, winning eight consecutive games in 18 years since 2005. The season’s performance is still ninth with 33 wins, 4 draws and 40 losses (as of the 10th), but it is only three games away from the fifth-ranked NC Dinos (37 wins, 1 draw and 38 losses), the Maginot Line to advance to autumn baseball.

One of the reasons why Hanwha, which remained at the bottom for three years from the 2020 season to the 2022 season, was able to rebound like this, which had been struggling early this season, is the stabilization of the pitching staff. Currently, Hanwha’s team ERA is 3.92, which is not bad.

Veteran catcher Choi Jae-hoon, who receives their balls, contributed greatly to the rapid growth of pitchers. Choi Jae-hoon, who recently met with a reporter, said, “I’m pouring a lot of (ball mix) as the pitcher demands. Pitchers threw the ball confidently, so even if the ball was pushed to the center, there were many hits. I think I’ve gained some confidence. That’s why I’m going more aggressive,” he said.

What is most encouraging about the Hanwha mound is that the number of four outs that have continued steadily has decreased. There was a word from Choi Jae-hoon that awakened young pitchers.

Choi Jae-hoon said, “Always to young pitchers, even if you throw it in the middle, you may get a hit and you may not be able to hit it.” But why do you have to throw it hard to catch the batter. Strikeouts are important, but I hope you trust the defenders behind you,’ he said.

He then said, “After throwing the ball (to the pitchers), don’t think about the situation after that. After that, the defenders do it. If you hit the first pitch, it ends with one ball. If you throw a ball and get a hit, the number of pitches will be saved. As pitchers think about this, they try not to avoid it with more confidence. As a result, I think I got a good result,” he added.

Hanwha’s top prospect Moon Dong-joo also actively accepted Choi Jae-hoon’s advice. Having posted one win, three losses, and two holds of an ERA of 5.56 in his debut season last year, he settled in the starting lineup this year, marking five wins, six losses and a 3.69 ERA.

Choi Jae-hoon said, “Moon Dong-joo is the ace of the team. He is still young and has a lot to learn. I told him not to avoid it because he is old enough to go up. “Why do you throw the ball away unlike the ace?” and “I don’t know why the ace has to throw the ball away.” The maximum speed is 160km, so why are you trying to strike out with difficulty. “I can strike out anyway,” he advised, adding, “I think that’s the result because I’m young (when Moon Dong-joo was bad) and I haven’t played a lot of games.” Now, I’ve learned little by little and played many games, so I’m stable as a starting pitcher. “He is a pitcher who needs to be seen for a longer time, such as next year and the year after next,” he said.

He said, “I also heard from other team hitters that Moon Dong-joo is better than Ahn Woo-jin (Kiem Heroes). So I told Moon Dong-joo to be proud. “Ahn Woo-jin sometimes collapses, too. What’s scary about it?” Veteran pitchers pitch with ball combinations, but you don’t need ball combinations. “You just have to throw it in the middle and catch the batters,” he explained.

Hanwha, which suffered from the collapse of the starting lineup at the beginning of the season, recently established a starting rotation with Felix 메이저사이트 추천 Peña (7 wins, 5 losses, 2.83 ERA), Ricardo Sanchez (5 wins, 1 loss, 2.61 ERA), and Moon Dong-joo. Although starting 4-5 is still a concern, the starting lineup’s 4.00 ERA has definitely made it competitive.

Choi Jae-hoon said, “The starting lineup has stabilized. The starting lineup seems to be cheering up as well. At first, as the starting lineup collapsed and escaped, there was a heavy burden on the pitching staff. “As I threw a lot of balls, I had a hard time,” he said, adding, “As I played while my physical strength was low, I had more walks.” However, now that the starting lineup has stabilized, the fielders have also rested. He said, “My physical strength has increased a lot while resting.”

Choi Jae-hoon, who leads the pitching staff well, has recently shown his presence in at-bat. Although he showed ups and downs for a month in June, he scored three hits and one RBI against the SSG Landers in Daejeon (7-9 Hanwha loss) on the 8th, and even hit a home run in the season against SSG on the 9th, helping Hanwha win 7-0 completely.

“(June 15) In the match against the Lotte Giants in Busan (Choi Jae-hoon’s performance of 5 at-bats, no hits), the batting sense has decreased since then. It hit well, but as the ball was caught and went straight to the front, I kept in a hurry. Looking back on the difficult times, he said, “I was mentally shaken by an urgent mind and my mental breakdown,” and added, “So I asked the batting coach a lot and talked a lot.” As a result, I’m getting better little by little,” he said with a shy smile.

Above all, Choi Jae-hoon’s biggest strength is his on-base percentage. He has a high on-base percentage of 0.412.

He said, “I try to see the ball as much as possible at-bat. Trying to bully the pitchers. If pitchers lose strength like that, the batters behind them can be more comfortable. “I try to live by watching a lot of balls somehow,” he said.

Choi Jae-hoon joined the Doosan Bears as a new player in 2008 and has been wearing a Hanwha uniform since the 2017 season. One of the few Hanwha players to experience the postseason, he lifted the Korean Series championship cup for Doosan in the 2015 and 2016 seasons and led Hanwha to the semi-playoffs in the 2018 season. 2018 was Hanwha’s last fall baseball so far.

If Hanwha, which has been on a strong rise recently, continues its current momentum and the growth of young players is added to it, it will not be a dream to advance to autumn baseball. This was also what Choi Jae-hoon wanted the most.

He said, “Our team is all younger. Veteran players are supporting them from behind, but young players should do it in the end. In order for our team to play fall baseball, these players must lead the team. I hope it doesn’t collapse with confidence. Whether you lose or win the game, I hope you don’t give up and fight until the end to hear that Hanwha is not weak,” he said, encouraging the growth of young players.

Choi Jae-hoon went on to say, “There is a saying that Hanwha is a red pepper powder unit (which means staying in the lower ranks and hitting the top teams at the end of the season).” If you silently win one game and one game, when other teams meet Hanwha, there will be a perception that “it has become a scary team” and “it has become a strong team. That way, I think we can continue this good atmosphere next year and the year after next,” he stressed.

He also said, “I hope young players gain confidence by playing baseball in the fall. Anyway, veterans come to an age where they have to stop later. It would be nice to win while playing fall baseball when I am there, but if it doesn’t work, I hope young players will lead Hanwha to go to fall baseball and win. That’s the biggest wish,” he said.

Finally, Choi Jae-hoon said, “I know how it feels because I’ve won the championship when I was in Doosan, and I’ve played autumn baseball here. I think young players can go up higher if they don’t give up. I hope juniors will have the power to develop further and fight until the end without complacency. “I hope to show ‘baseball that doesn’t give up’ and ‘baseball that is persistent’,” he said. “There may be times when it is difficult, but I think Hanwha can become a stronger team if young players grow up.” If you experience autumn baseball, you can be more confident. “I hope young players will cheer up more,” he said, not hiding his desire to advance to the postseason.

“Samjin is important, but I hope (the pitchers) trust the defenders behind me.” The rise of the “Eagle Corps” Hanwha Eagles is unusual. Recently, it has been making a strong sensation, winning eight consecutive games in 18 years since 2005. The season’s performance is still ninth with 33 wins, 4 draws and 40 losses (as…