Kim Jae-geol (52, Hanwha Eagles) coach moved to Hanwha Eagles ahead of last season.
Coach Kim was not glamorous when he was active, but he has played a role of "punishment" with stable defense and running ability. Having coached at Samsung and LG since his retirement, he will take on a new challenge at Hanwha this year.
Last year, Hanwha ranked ninth out of 10 teams among 67 teams. Although there were not many attempts at 89, the success rate was 75.3 percent, which was not a good one. Only Lee Won-seok (13) and Lee Do-yoon (11). Hanwha recruited Kim because of his expertise and ample experience in operations and base running.
Coach Kim said, "Actually, after the season two years ago, General Manager Sohn Hyuk contacted me, but at that time, I couldn't come due to the situation, but after last season, Coach Choi Won-ho contacted me the fastest, so I decided to go to Hanwha without hesitation because there was something that matched the thoughts of the general manager and the director."
Hanwha, which remained at the bottom for three years from 2021, finished the season ranking ninth last year as well. However, it challenged to advance to the fall baseball league by recruiting An Chi-hong as an outside FA this season.
Coach Kim also viewed Hanwha's growth potential highly. "Honestly, it is true that Hanwha's successive investments have led to a lot of players' composition and pool. Last year, he showed a lot of potential, but there were some disappointing details of the operation, base running, and the situation. The general manager and the coach also asked to make up for that, and I thought I could help the team in that area as well," he explained.
The order for the team was clear. He wanted them to have confidence. "We had many conversations with the players since the last closing camp, and nobody knew that we were disappointed in the details. I think it will probably be easier to develop because everyone knows our problems and we have a clear intention to make up for them," Kim said. "However, what I felt during my long coaching career is that players need confidence to make their play easier. I will take responsibility, so I often ask players to play with confidence. Of course, it would be nice if it develops dramatically in a short period of time, but that's actually difficult, so I will try to create a more mature situation little by little over a long period of time."
Coach Kim continued, "Baseball has games every day and leads to three consecutive games, so you shouldn't give the opposing team the idea that it's easy to deal with. With the club's investment, many good players will come in and be active on the batting side, and in addition, we will prepare well for movements that fit the situation and situations that bother the opponent. So I will help the opponent grow into a strong team by instilling the image of a difficult team."
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