In 2022, he was 2-for-6 (104-for-398) with 16 homers, 54 RBIs and a 0.722 OPS, and in 2023, he was 2-for-5 (73-for-325) with seven homers, 42 RBIs and a 0.639 OPS.

He joined the organization as a developmental player in 2016 and played primarily in the Futures League (second level). Returned from active duty to seize a hard-earned opportunity. Hanwha Eagles infielder Kim In-hwan, 29, hit the most home runs on the team last year, ranked third in RBI and fifth in runs scored. He made the leap to the main roster after playing 22 games and 52 at-bats in 2018-2019.

In his second year full-time, expectations were high. Three weeks into the season, he was dropped from the first team. In 16 games, he batted 2-for-5. One home run and one RBI. The team hit rock bottom in the first month of the season.

His performance dropped significantly from last year and his position diminished. He was often dropped from the starting lineup depending on the pitcher he was facing. Twice he was reassigned to the second team.

First base is crowded with good hitters.

If you don’t hit, you’re out of a job. Chae, 33, who joined the team as a free agent last winter, has started 302 of 596 at-bats, or 50.7 percent, at first base this season. He has 198 at-bats, 33.2 percent, as a designated hitter. She can also play the outfield, but has been the primary first baseman. Veteran Chae Eun-sung took over Kim In-hwan’s position. It’s a result of poor hitting.

Next year, the competition for survival will be more intense.

Free agent infielder Ahn Chi-hong, 33, signed a 4+2-year contract for a total of 7.2 billion won. 온라인카지노 His main position is second base, but he can also play first base. The team needs to give the young second basemen Moon Hyun-bin and Jung Eun-won some playing time. Ahn Chi-hong is likely to play a lot of games at first base or as a designated hitter.

It’s a crisis.

Kim In-hwan was nonchalant. “When I first joined the team, there was Kim Tae-gyun. There were always a lot of seniors and we competed. It’s the usual competition. On the contrary, this situation motivates me to work harder.” He took the competition for granted and wanted to use it as an opportunity to grow.

“Next year, I can’t have the same result as this year. I’m going to get my mind right and start from scratch. I’m going to work as hard as I can,” he emphasized.

After completing his eighth year as a professional and second full-time season, Kim had a busy fall. In October, he participated in the Miyazaki Education League (Phoenix League), followed by a fall camp. From spring training in February to the end of November, he played baseball for 10 months straight.

“I wanted to do better than last year,” he says, “but I was greedy from the beginning of the season, so my results didn’t come out, and I think that’s why I kept getting chased. This mental part affected my technical part.”

Kim’s diagnosis of the cause of his poor performance. Of course, the level of opposing pitchers was also different. He had to fight for every at-bat.

“I tried to change a lot during the training league and fall camp. I kept watching videos of things that didn’t work this year and realized I had problems. I thought a lot that I shouldn’t do it like this year,” Kim said.

“I talked a lot with hitting coach Kim Nam-hyung and assistant coach Jung Kyung-bae. We improved a lot of things that weren’t good.”

He plans to work at Daejeon Baseball Stadium during his off-season.