The humiliation of Doosan’s 4th hitter
Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop could not easily answer the reporter’s question. The command tower spared his words, saying, “I think we will know only at 8:00 (after the game starts). At 4:06, we haven’t decided yet.” Kim Jae-hwan (35) played as a pinch hitter at the end of the 8th inning when the team was trailing 3-4 in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ against kt Wiz held at Jamsil Stadium on the 4th. The situation in which Kim Jae-hwan stood at bat was a win-win situation. This is because at the end of the game, 2 out 1 and 2 base scoring chances continued.
Kim Jae-hwan fouled as if the timing was not right with the ball count 2-1 advantage. Afterwards, in the ball count of 2-2, Park Young-hyun’s four-seam fastball hit the bat and struck out with a swing. He didn’t take advantage of the opportunity. Doosan’s plan, which was looking at a tie or a reversal, went in vain. In the end, they lost 3-4 and had to give up 3rd place to kt.
Kim Jae-hwan is the hitter representing Doosan. He was the 232nd career homer and the team’s fourth hitter, leading numerous moments of glory. However, the pace has started to drop this season. Last month, his monthly batting average was 0.176 (9 hits in 51 bats) and 2 home runs, and this month, his monthly batting average is 0.077 (1 hit in 13 bats), which is sluggish. Kim Jae-hwan is hardly finding a sense of impact. He started to be excluded from the starting lineup not befitting his reputation.
Regarding Kim Jae-hwan’s absence from the starting list before the match, Lee said, “(Kim) Jae-hwan is not sick. He must be mentally the most difficult because he is sluggish. He has to help the team and play his role as a veteran… This will be the most frustrating,” he said. He continued, “I hope that today (the 4th) will be excluded from the start to refresh and relax. Since he is not a player to play in the 2nd team, we have to support Jaehwan together and help Jaehwan show a good performance. I have to recover my senses)) and the team gets better. For now, I think I will spend today and tomorrow (the 5th) excluding them from the start and practicing comfortably.”
And the game started. The team came to a point where Kim Jae-hwan needed a shot. At the end of the 8th inning, when the team was behind 2-4, a crucial scoring opportunity with 2 out, 1st and 2nd base was caught in the bottom line. As if he had made up his mind on something, the bench announced his intention to use a pinch hitter to the referee. At that moment, the player who walked into the plate wasn’t Kim Jae-hwan. It was Kim In-tae, who returned to the first team after about 4 months on this day. It was a part where you can see what Doosan Bench thinks of the recent Kim Jae-hwan.
Pinch hitter Kim In-tae produced results. He wasn’t a regular hitter, but he hit a 1-run timely hit to pull out a 3-4 trailing score. 토토사이트 And the bench moved once more. This time, Jaehwan Kim stepped into the plate. The home fans also chanted Kim Jae-hwan’s name and expressed their anticipation. But that was it. Kim Jae-hwan went to the plate with high expectations, but he had to turn around with a swing strikeout.
As coach Lee said, Kim Jae-hwan is a hitter that the team must play. There is a clear difference between the team batting line that can utilize Kim Jae-hwan’s slugging power and the team batting line that does not. Will Kim Jaehwan be able to overcome the humiliating situation? Even if Doosan wants to rise to a higher level, it will definitely need a rebound.