“The club said they would try to catch it as actively as possible.”
Shall we give the new Lotte Giants coach Kim Tae-hyung, who is a match-winner and a winner, an inauguration gift of catching a domestic rabbit?메이저놀이터
Coach Kim Tae-hyung, a master at advancing to the Korean Series for seven consecutive years, will hold an official inauguration ceremony on the 24th as the new head of Lotte to improve its structure. One of the issues currently attracting the most attention is the future of Jeon Jun-woo (37) and Ahn Chi-hong (33), both former and current captains, who are eligible to become free agents (FAs).
Although Lotte failed to play fall baseball, their performance was the most outstanding among the team. Coach Kim Tae-hyung also said in a phone call with MK Sports, “Basically, the team’s two one-two punch players (Jeon Jun-woo and Ahn Chi-hong) are free agents, so the club said that they will make efforts to catch them as actively as possible,” and said that the most important agenda of the off-season is to make their free agents available. He mentioned remaining in the contract.
First of all, Jeon Jun-woo, who is also the most senior member of the fielding team, played a significant role as the leader of the team’s batting line after the retirement of ‘Joseon’s fourth hitter’ Lee Dae-ho.
Jeon Jun-woo had the best performance on the team in almost all indicators before hitting, including a batting average of 0.312/154 hits/17 home runs/80 runs/77 RBI/on-base percentage of 0.381/slugging percentage of 0.471/OPS 0.852. He showed his consistent skills by ranking 7th in most hits, 9th in runs scored, and 10th in batting average throughout the league.
Ahn Chi-hong also performed well in the Lotte batting lineup after Jeon Jun-woo, recording a batting average of 0.292/57 runs/8 home runs/63 RBI/on-base percentage of 0.374/slugging percentage of 0.400/OPS of 0.774 in 121 games. This year’s slugging percentage fell to the lowest level since transferring to Lotte.
However, if limited to second basemen who have strong characteristics as infield position players, they are still competitive. Ahn Chi-hong showed good skills, recording a WAR (Winnings Above Replacement Contribution) of 2.85, the third highest among league second basemen after Kim Hye-seong (Kiwoom, 6.19) and Park Min-woo (NC, 4.05). This means that there are not many players in the league who can replace Ahn Chi-hong.
Their performance is good, but their value does not only shine on the field. Leadership that unites team players, as evidenced by former or current captains, is the most valuable and irreplaceable asset.
Director Kim Tae-hyung also highly evaluated this. Coach Kim said, “Jeon Jun-woo and Ahn Chi-hong play a big role. “These are two players who focus the players,” he said, emphasizing their abilities as leaders.
In addition, Coach Kim said, “As the leader (coach) has become disorganized, there has been no one who has a clear central role in the team called Lotte. In that respect, I will have to lead the team well as a whole, and the central points within the players are Jeon Jun-woo and Ahn Chi-hong. “Players are very important,” he said, adding that he expected the two players to play a big role in NEW Lotte, which will be united as one.
There is also a scene where they meet side by side in one place. Coach Kim’s inauguration ceremony held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 24th will be attended by all players, including prospective free agents Jeon Jun-woo and Ahn Chi-hong. It is expected that we will also see a scene where current captain Ahn Chi-hong and top senior Jeon Jun-woo naturally welcome Director Kim.