Baseball manager Lee Seung-yeop (47) sees a “right-right cleanup trio” with left-handed slugger Kim Jae-hwan (35) batting fourth and right-handers Yang Suk-hwan (32) and Yang Ji (36) in front of him as the framework for the 2024 season.For now, Lee’s plan is more than 50 percent complete.Yang signed a free agent contract with Doosan on March 30 for 4+2 years and up to 7.8 billion won.”I called the coach after signing the contract,” Yang said. I loved the sound of his voice,” he laughed.Yang, who was traded to Doosan from the LG Twins in 2021, hit .267 with 69 home runs and 236 RBIs over the last three years (2021-2023).He was third in home runs during that time. Only Choi Jung (90 home runs-SSG Landers) and Jose Pirela (73 home runs-Samsung Lions) have hit more home runs than Yang.With Yang staying, Doosan has succeeded in building a centerpiece batting lineup that is not outclassed by other clubs.What remains to be seen is the rebound of Kim Jae-hwan.Kim Jae-hwan left for the United States on May 25.He traveled to the United States to train with Kang Jeong-ho, who has played in the KBO and Major League Baseball and currently runs a baseball academy.
Kim Jae-hwan was also invited by manager Lee Seung-yeop to join the team’s final camp from November 1-23. It’s unusual for a starter to complete a full camp.Kim hit 44 home runs and 133 RBIs in 2018, winning two division titles and being named the regular season Most Valuable Player (MVP).However, his home runs have since dropped to 15 in 2019, 30 in 2020, 27 in 2021, 23 in 2022, and just 10 this year.His batting average was .220, his lowest since becoming a starter.Lee Seung-yeop, a former “national hitter” who played in Nippon Professional Baseball for eight years and still holds the record for most home runs in Korean baseball (467), served as Kim Jae-hwan’s “dedicated instructor” during this year’s final camp.”I talked more with Kim Jae-hwan during the final camp than I did during the entire regular season this year,” Lee said. “He told me his worries, we diagnosed problems together, and we got to know each other. It’s not easy for a veteran to complete a training camp. I’m very grateful to Jae-hwan.””It definitely paid off. I could see that he was struggling. It was probably harder than it looks.” “Training volume is not everything, but it takes a lot of training for the body to remember good form. While overcoming his physical limitations, the bad memories 스포츠토토존 that plagued him must have disappeared.”