“I said that I had to set up this year.”
The Hanwha Eagles안전놀이터 made a surprise announcement on the 11th. After winning against the Samsung Lions 4-0, manager Carlos Subero was sacked and Futures manager Choi Won-ho signed a three-year contract as the first-team manager.
Since they were cruising with 5 wins and 2 losses in May, Hanwha’s decision was even more shocking. However, there was a reason. Unconventional shifts were put forward in each game, and voices of dissatisfaction began to emerge from within the club as the positions of the players were not clear.
A position to bring the team back together. Coach Choi said, ahead of his debut game against Incheon SSG Landers on the 12th, “Yesterday and today I am in a state of disarray. I have to play from today. I want to do it,” he said.
If coach Subero is given the task of ‘rebuilding’, coach Choi must raise the team’s performance, which has stayed at the bottom.
Director Choi said, “The club said, “Next year, we have to play winning baseball from the beginning of the season, but in order to do that, we have to set up at least this year.” We plan to have players in good condition and players in good condition enter the lineup and set the boundaries between starters and backups. For pitchers, we plan to create the concept of a winning group, including at least a closer.”
It’s not just a complete overhaul. ‘Subero coaching system’
As for the winning team, they included finishing pitcher Park Sang-won, Kang Jae-min and rookie Kim Seo-hyun.
Director Choi said, “The young pitcher management and active base play are the parts that have changed since coach Subero came,” and said, “I plan to continue the parts that will continue.”
The defensive shift, which has been somewhat unconventional by coach Subero, will set the direction with the pitcher.
Coach Choi said, “We had a coaching spat meeting at 1:30 in the morning. And I talked to the players today. Many players said that it would be nice to have a shift for left-handed slugger hitters. “But the situation where runners on third base or double plays are required. When right-handed hitters, they didn’t want to shift. We’re going to fix that part,” he said. “The most important point in defense is how well the pitcher pitches. The lack of a pitcher is bound to upset the pitcher and lead to a decline in performance.”
Coach Choi led the team as an acting manager in 2020 as well. Coach Choi said, “The biggest difference (in 2020) was that the team atmosphere was not good because it went up during 14 consecutive losses. “he explained.