“I think he’s given up his greed for redemption.”
SBS Sports commentator Lee Sun-cheol, who broadcast the KIA-Hanwha game in Gwangju on May 5, said that Han Seung-hyuk (30) seems to have completely abandoned his greed for restraint. In fact, from the end of his time with KIA, Han Seung-hyuk vowed to win games with accuracy, timing, and game management skills rather than batting.
Han Seung-hyuk in his new Hanwha uniform after the trade for Byun Woo-hyuk. Han was hoping to turn him into a bullpen arm to help him reach his potential at age 30, but baseball doesn’t always work out that way. After failing to find a place in Han’s deep rotation this year, he decided to start again.
In late June, he was given a chance to start, but he never made it past the four-inning barrier. On June 17 against Kiwoom, it was his first start of the season, so there was less of a pitch count buildup. He actually only threw three innings, giving up one run on three hits and one walk. On June 22, he pitched well again against his hometown team, KIA, with four innings of one-hit ball, four strikeouts, and two walks.
However, he faltered against KT on June 28, giving up four runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts in three innings. A month later, on July 25, he gave up three runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts in two innings against Kiwoom. He had a decent outing against SSG on July 30 with four innings of three-hit ball, four strikeouts, and two walks, but struggled again against KIA in Gwangju on July 5 with three innings of six-hit ball, three walks, and four strikeouts.
In 20 games this season, he’s 2-1 with a 5.77 ERA, but he hasn’t had a terrible game either. It makes you wonder what he could do with a few more innings. In fact, commentator Kim Tae-hyung said, “He gave up runs, but he’s settled down.”
The first inning was a big one. His fastball didn’t work against the in-form KIA bats, but he closed out the second and third innings. His pitch design changed. In the second inning, his slider stood out against right-handed batters, and in the third inning, he gave up two walks but kept them off-balance with his curveball. However, in the fourth inning, he followed a similar pattern and walked a batter to put runners on first and second with no outs.
With Jang Min-jae out of the lineup, Kim Seo-hyun is now in. Han Seung-hyuk will get more chances for the time being. Choi Won-ho doesn’t think Han Seung-hyuk should be satisfied with simply giving up saves. He believes that he needs to open his eyes to the game management to become a starting pitcher.안전놀이터
“Seung-hyuk has a stubborn style when he’s younger. There are a lot of balls that come into the strike zone. His fastball has always been a problem since his time in the KIA, but his fastball has improved a lot.” However, he said, “He doesn’t mix his pitches well.”
He wanted to be able to throw off-speed pitches with his curveball, like he did in the second inning. Choi said, “My fastball, fork, and slider have similar trajectories, so even if I have a good ball, I get hit. My curve is better than I thought, but it’s really underutilized. My average is in the low 140s, but if I can improve my curve, I can pitch competitively. Now that I’m over 30, it’s time to open my eyes to management.”
Improving your game isn’t just about changing your pitch design.