Kang Jung-ho's high-priced tutoring for the second consecutive year, why is his batting average poor at around 10%…The national hitter asked back, "Is Kim Jae-hwan's exhibition game meaningful?"
Kang Jung-ho's high-priced tutoring for the second consecutive year, why is his batting average poor at around 10%…The national hitter asked back, "Is Kim Jae-hwan's exhibition game meaningful?"
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Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop met with reporters in an exhibition game against KT Wiz at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 17th and did not seem to mind the sluggish exhibition game of "home run hitter" Kim Jae-hwan.먹튀검증
Kim had a batting average of 95 (two hits in 21 at-bats) and nine strikeouts in seven exhibition games until Thursday. He had consecutive hits at the game against the Tigers at Jamsil KIA on Wednesday and Thursday after three consecutive exhibition games, but all of them were single hits, and failed to post any slugging and RBI, eclipsing the title of "big shots." Kim, who was picked as a strong second batter unlike last year, was not a hard-working table setter or strong second batter, but was an ordinary second hitter with no impact. It was like that until at least the game on Friday.
The reason why Kim Jae-hwan's offseason is drawing particular attention is that he has a routine to spend his inactive period at Kang Jung-ho Academy in Los Angeles from two years ago. Baseball fans are interested in how his batting, which received expensive tutoring from "former major leaguer" Kang Jung-ho, has changed since the exhibition game.
Kim Jae-hwan, who has been sluggish since signing a four-year, 11.5 billion won FA contract in the 2022 season, volunteered for hell training ahead of the 2024 season, shouting his desperation. He participated in the Icheon closing camp unusually and received special guidance from coach Lee Seung-yeop, who was a national batter when he was active, and immediately went to Los Angeles to redefine batting form and batting theory at Kang Jung-ho Academy, which helped Son Ah-seop (NC Dinos) become the first batting champion in 2023.
Kim Jae-hwan has regained the prowess of Jamsil's big guns in his third year as an FA contractor last year. He played 552 at-bats in 136 games for the season, recording a batting average of 283, 134 hits, 29 homers, 92 RBIs, 78 runs batted in (OPS) and .525 OPS. He has been listed on top of various indicators in the slugging category including home run, 8th place in slugging percentage, and 10th place in OPS. Compared to the 2023 season, the number of doubles (15 → 28), home runs (10 → 29) and slugging percentage (.331 → .525) surged side by side.
Kim Jae-hwan was not satisfied with his 29th homer last year, and spent two consecutive years in the inactive period heading to Kang Jung-ho's school. Again this time, he prepared hard for the Sydney spring camp in Australia under the guidance of Kang Jung-ho, and said, "Last season was about establishing a new theory, but now I have completely changed the way I see the ball. After returning from the U.S., when I practiced alone, I found that I improved to an extent that I could not compare with last year."
Therefore, Kim Jae-hwan's batting average seems all the more unfamiliar at the exhibition game. At the current pace, Lee Seung-yeop's ambitious "strong second batter" plan may not be effective. Lee has completed the lineup for the opening game with Yang Eui-ji, Jake Cave, and Kang Seung-ho clean-up trio at the Kim Min-seok, Kim Jae-hwan table setter.
However, the head coach did not seem to care at all about Kim Jae-hwan's batting average. "If Kim Jae-hwan is in a class like him, would his performance at exhibition games be of great significance?" coach Lee Seung-yeop asked. "I have confidence in Kim Jae-hwan, which is not good right now, but I think he will definitely show his true self when the regular season starts. I have expectations that the bad things will get better in the season."
Rather, he added, it is fortunate that he is going through trial and error now. "If you like it too much during the trial game, your pace may drop as soon as the season starts. If you think about it and hit it now, you will be able to play with more tension when you enter the season. Kim Jae-hwan is not worried at all, and I believe he will do a good job," Lee said, expressing strong trust.
Did Lee Seung-yeop's waiting work? At the game on Wednesday last week, Kim finally hit a homer, which he had long aspired to, and revealed his outlook for the regular season. When his team was losing 0-4, Kim had a chance to garner runners on the first and second bases with one out in the top of the fourth inning. He properly hit a high two-seam (144 kilometers) outside the first pitch by William Cuevas, the starting pitcher of the KT, to lead him to a 125-meter home run in the middle of the road. He garnered his first arch at an exhibition game in eight games, and raised his batting average to 130 percent from 95 percent at an exhibition game. He regained his swing just five days before the season's opening.