Yang Seok-hwan, 33, an infielder and captain of the Doosan Bears in the Korean baseball league, attracted attention when he admitted to being a “goofball” at a media day before the season. “I’m planning to lead the team strongly because I have a strong personality,” he said. “He’s a tough guy,” junior pitcher Kwak Bin Kwak said of the captain.
The loose play of the captain was not lost on him. On April 28 against Hanwha in Daejeon, Yang called his players together in front of the third-base dugout during an inning change after the bottom of the second inning. After scoring five runs in the top of the first inning to take a commanding lead, a series of unfocused plays on defense in the bottom of the inning led to four runs and a 5-5 tie. Starting pitcher Choi Jun-ho was unable to get any defensive help and was pulled after allowing five runs (two earned) in 1⅔ innings.
The temperature in Daejeon was 27 degrees in early summer, and Choi struggled with his pitches, giving up three walks and struggling with his command, 안전놀이터 추천 making it difficult for the batters to stay focused. Still, the team needed to be mentally tough after blowing a five-run lead in two innings.
The captain, Yang Seok-hwan, didn’t let up.
Doosan scored one more run in the third inning to cut the deficit to 5-6, but in the fourth inning, Cho Yoo-sung’s bunt single and stolen second base set the stage for Kim Jae-hwan’s three-run home run to make it 9-6. In the fifth inning, Yang Seok-hwan scored six runs, including a grand slam, to seal the victory. The 17-8 victory was Doosan’s third consecutive sweep of the series despite being down two foreign pitchers.
Kim Jae-hwan, who exploded for three hits and six RBIs on the day, including two three-run homers, said of the meeting after the second inning, “(Yang) Seok-hwan said something very nice. The pitchers are throwing hard, and I want the batters to focus a little more. It was an opportunity for the batters to focus more.”
“I’m happy with the win, but I think there are a lot of things we need to reflect on,” said Yang Seok-hwan. “We called an in-game meeting to address these areas, and we delivered our opinions with a stronger tone,” said Yang. “We’ve already played more than 30 games, and the same mistakes have been repeated in terms of the batters’ focus on defense and the way the pitchers pitched. As the captain, I wanted to make it clear, and I hope that everyone on the team, including me, will think about it and improve their game in the future.”
Yang free agent contract after last season
Yang, who was traded from LG to Doosan in March 2021 and has since become the team’s starting first baseman, signed a 4+2-year, 7.8 billion won ($7.8 million) free agent contract after last season. He wore the captain’s armband from the first year of his free agency contract, but struggled to find his groove early on. He struggled to hit until the first game of a doubleheader against Jamsil Kiwoom on July 21, when he hit just 1-for-1 (.198).
However, he bounced back with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 2 of the doubleheader the same day, and he certainly came alive last week, batting 4-for-4 (11-for-25) with three home runs, 12 RBIs, and a 1.280 OPS in six games. 토토사이트 순위 His season numbers improved to 32 games (28-for-110) with six home runs, 24 RBIs and an .814 OPS.
“Personally, I had a very bad start to the season,” says Yang. I was frustrated, but I wasn’t impatient because baseball is a sport of average numbers. I think I’m feeling better as the results keep coming one by one,” said Yang. ”I’m always grateful to the fans. The entire team will do our best to do even better in the future.”
