“I’m definitely Kim Jae-hwan.” “Senior Kim Jaehwan.” “(Kim) Jaehwan hyung helped me a lot.”
Yang Eui-ji (35), who was called ‘half of power’, left Doosan for four years, Kim Jae-hwan (34) solidified his position as another ‘half of power’. He showed his presence not only in his grades but also in an invisible place as a driving force for building ‘Team Bears’.
Kim Jae-hwan is the name that comes up most often in the Doosan team training at the Blacktown International Baseball Center (Blacktown) in Australia. Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop, who dominated the era as a ‘national hitter’, also said, “The key player who will influence the team’s performance this season is definitely Kim Jae-hwan.” He is doing much better than expected, so he is looking forward to his performance this year.”
Kim Jae-hwan, who hit 23 home runs in 128 games last year but only recorded 73 RBIs and a batting average of 0.248, is sweating hard to make a comeback. He approaches Director Lee without hesitation, confesses his troubles, and asks for advice. Coach Lee also generously passed on his know-how by adding his experience during his active career so that Jaehwan Kim could achieve good results. His strength is still evaluated as the best in the team. It is expected that his weak point will be compensated for by redefining his slightly disheveled batting philosophy. Doosan Koji Goto, hitting coach, praised him, saying, “He has a great swing that I don’t have any advice for.”
Kim Jae-hwan’s mission this year is to lead the team’s offense as the fourth hitter. He himself also expressed confidence, saying, “The coach said, ‘40 home runs are the basics,’ but he has to produce results that will meet expectations.” Although they are conducting throwing training separately due to the removal of bone fragments in their elbows, the view from inside and outside the club is that there is no problem raising it to 100% before the opening game.
If the 4th hitter is a revealed mission, the ‘invisible role’ that he has been steadily playing since before can’t be ignored. “Captain” Heo Gyeong-min said, “(Kim) Jae-hwan hyung suffered a lot because of his insistence last year. Although he must have been under a lot of stress because his grades weren’t coming out as he wanted, he managed to attract his juniors well. He is playing a supporting role this year as well, and he is a great source of support for me preparing for the first year as captain.” 메이저사이트
Juniors also mention Kim Jae-hwan without hesitation when asked about ‘the senior who influenced him the most’. Kim Min-hyeok, who is competing for first base with Yang Seok-hwan this year as the next-generation fourth hitter, said, “Since we were together in the Futures League, (Kim) Jae-hwan has helped me a lot. He showed me with his body and words how to prepare to become a first-team player and what efforts he had to make to rise to the next level, which was a great strength.”
Pitchers also emphasized the so-called ‘Kim Jae-hwan effect’. Many pitchers said, “When I was shaken psychologically or when I was struggling physically, Jae-hwan hyung suggested a solution. He warmly caresses me and scolds me harshly, but I think this kind of interest and consideration accumulated has made me who I am today.”
Kim Jae-hwan laughed it off, saying, “His juniors are good at social life,” but his influence and importance in the team make it easy to pick him as a “clubhouse leader.” He said, “I do it to my juniors as I learned from my seniors.” In order for the players to work toward one goal with one mind, seniors must lead by example,” he emphasized.