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 the 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 the Hanwha Eagles, and all three foreign players changed hands, 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.
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, in his first year as a pitcher, he could not escape from sluggishness and injuries from the following year, perhaps because he was overworked in a difficult position. 메이저놀이터 He pitched in 33 games in 2020 and 2021 combined, only digesting 31 innings in total. He returned to the outfield after the end of the 2021 season as the shoulder injury made it difficult for him to continue his career as a pitcher.
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. Although he batted poorly, 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.