‘Australian League 11 Home Run’ Ha Jae-hoon, pay attention to SSG outfield starter
Ten teams in the 2023 KBO League went abroad for spring camp and started preparing for the season in earnest. If the opening of the regular season is the starting point of fierce competition among 10 clubs, the spring camp is compared to the starting point of competition within each club. In particular, players whose position in the team is somewhat ambiguous must receive the coaching staff’s attention during field training to gain an advantage in the competition for starting positions and get many opportunities to participate.
SSG Landers, who won their first combined championship in two years after taking over SK Wyverns last year, is of course the goal this year is to win two consecutive championships. As Lee Tae-yang obtained FA status and transferred to Hanwha Eagles, and all three foreign players were changed, there are no question marks. However, SSG’s strong player base, or depth, is a great advantage of SSG. In particular, the outfield is not inferior to any other team with players with various advantages in air defense.
One of the players to note in the SSG outfield is ‘Transformer’ Ha Jae-hoon. Ha Jae-hoon, who played in the minor leagues and the Japanese independent league, was nominated in SK’s 2nd round 16th in 2019 and made a U-turn to the KBO League. SK, who noticed the strong shoulder of Ha Jae-hoon, who was an outfielder, transformed him into a pitcher with the joining.
※ SSG Ha Jae-hoon’s 2022 season key records
Ha Jae-hoon pitched in 61 games in 2019, his debut season in the KBO League, and recorded 5 wins, 3 losses, 36 saves, 3 holds, an average ERA of 1.98 and a POPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.596. He won the title of king of saves by making a soft landing as a finishing pitcher with a fastball with an average speed of 146.3 km / h. Ha Jae-hoon, who took the lead in SK’s second place in the regular season, was also selected for the Premier 12 national team held in November.
However, he could not escape from sluggishness and injuries from the following year, probably because he was overworked in a difficult position in his first year as a pitcher. He pitched in 33 games in 2020 and 2021 combined, only digesting 31 innings in total. Due to his shoulder injury, he decided that it would be difficult for him to continue his career as a pitcher, so he returned to the outfield after the 2021 season. 메이저놀이터
In his debut season as a hitter in the KBO League last year, Ha Jae-hoon recorded a batting average of 0.215, 6 homers, 13 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.704. His batting average was poor, but he hit six home runs in 114 at bats, showing considerable promise with one home run per 17.83 at-bats. In particular, he showed strength against left-handed pitchers with a batting average of 0.294, 4 homers and 8 RBIs. Ha Jae-hoon was also included in the Korean Series entry and won the championship ring for the first time in the KBO League.
After the season, Jaehoon Ha joined Geelong Korea of the Australian Professional Baseball League (ABL). In 21 games, he made a strong impression with a batting average of 0.306, 11 homers, 18 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.146. He became the stage to reaffirm his potential as a Utah Geopo.
This year, SSG’s outfield is saturated with veterans Choo Shin-soo, Kim Kang-min, Hanyu Island, Choi Ji-hoon, who is proving his growth every year, new foreign hitter Heredia, and Oh Tae-gon, who signed a 4-year, 1.8 billion won residual contract. Even if one of these guys gets the designated hitter spot, there are still three full spots in the outfield.
Ha Jae-hoon has to pass through a ‘narrow gate’ in order to beat his fellow outfielders and win the starting spot. Attention is focusing on whether Ha Jae-hoon, who is in his second year as a hitter in the KBO league, will fully develop his big shot potential and compete for the home run king. [Related article ] Choi Jeong, ‘the best third baseman
ever’, can he take off the tag for domestic use? (Written by Lee Yong-seon / Supervised by: Reporter Min Sang-hyun) Inquire about articles and support sports creators