Outfielder Chae Eun-seong (33), who signed a free agent (FA) contract with the ‘lowest’ Hanwha Eagles after last season, is ready to leap forward with his new teammates.
Chae Eun-seong, who obtained FA qualification after finishing the season last year, signed a contract with Hanwha for 6 years and up to 9 billion won (down payment 3.6 billion won, annual salary 4.4 billion won, option 1 billion won).
With the addition of Chae Eun-seong, Hanwha, whose batting line was thicker, finished the demonstration game in first place (9 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses). It is the first time in two years since 2021 that Hanwha has ranked first in an exhibition game.
During the demonstration game, the Hanwha lineup ranked first with a team batting average of 0.282 and tied for second with nine homers토토사이트. Noh Si-hwan, who received batting advice from Chae Eun-seong during the spring camp, tied for first place with Lee Seong-gyu (Samsung Lions) with 5 homers.
It is not easy to predict what kind of performance Hanwha will perform this season, which has been in last place for three consecutive years, but it is true that expectations are higher than in previous years.
Chae Eun-seong, who should lead the batting line at Hanwha, also finished preparations for the new season with high expectations.
He met with reporters after the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Media Day held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul Grand Ballroom on the 30th and said, “Our team has been in the lower ranks for a while, but if young players work with confidence, I think we can develop sufficiently.”
He continued, “It is important to place first in the demonstration game, but in the process, I felt that all the players were moving as a team.” he emphasized.
Regarding the performance of his junior Noh Si-hwan, he said, “People around me say it’s thanks to my help, but (Roh) Si-hwan prepared well, and I didn’t help anything.” it does,” he said.
Hanwha has an opening game against Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 1st of next month. Hanwha’s new foreign pitcher, Birch Smith, will face Kiwoom’s ace Ahn Woo-jin.
Hanwha’s recent opening match performance is not good.
In 2020, he won the opening game against SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) and broke the jinx of losing the opening game that had lasted 11 years, but then lost the opening game again for two consecutive years.
In particular, last year, it fell to the bottom of the list with six consecutive losses in the opening season, and did not raise the rankings until the end of the season. For this reason, the Hanwha team is determined to win the opening match.
Chae Eun-seong said, “I experienced fall baseball when I was with the LG Twins, but the game I was more nervous about was the opening game.” I look forward to it,” he said.
He added, “Coach Carlos Subero always emphasizes basic skills to the players.