Ha Joo-seok is back. But there is no place for Ha Joo-seok. The position of Hanwha shortstop is already occupied by shortstop Lee Do-yoon, who has been in his 9th year. Instead, with the return of Ha Joo-seok, Hanwha also has a thing called depth. Over the past few years, Hanwha shortstop was virtually only Ha Joo-seok. But now it’s different.
After Ha Joo-seok was suspended for 70 games by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for drunk driving in November last year, Hanwha rushed to find a player to fill the shortstop position. Unable to find a replacement for Ha Joo-seok inside, Hanwha hurriedly put out the fire by signing a 1+1 free agent contract with Oh Seon-jin, who can defend shortstop, for a total of 400 million won for 1+1 years.
At the beginning of the season, the main shortstop was Park Jeong-hyun. However, as Park Jung-hyun’s sluggishness deepened, he coped with the experienced Oh Seon-jin card. However, even Oh Seon-jin was injured and Lee Do-yoon had a chance. Lee Do-yoon did not miss the opportunity that came to him. Starting in June, he became a regular shortstop, filling the shortstop position perfectly. His offense is not very noticeable with a batting average of 0.246, but he showed a solid appearance on defense.
Director Choi Won-ho also acknowledged Lee Do-yoon’s performance and said, “Lee Do-yoon is doing well as a shortstop, and the team is continuing a good flow. There is no reason to break this atmosphere.” It is a role to support Lee Do-yoon, who came,” he emphasized.
Until last year, Ha Joo-seok was Hanwha’s irreplaceable starting shortstop no matter what anyone said. However, his mood has changed a lot during the 8 months he has been away. His juniors have grown rapidly and it is a situation where he has to start over from the backup. Actually it was.
On the 12th, when Ha Joo-seok returned to the first team, he could not play. There was no place for a pinch hitter or a big defense. On the other hand, Lee Do-yoon, who played as the starting shortstop for the 9th hitter, recorded 1 hit in 2 at-bats in offense, and showed continuous success by running across the ground in defense. One of the reasons Moon Dong-ju was able to pitch 7.1 innings and 1 run against LG was because Lee Do-yoon’s defense supported him.
In particular, I liked the process of handling LG Hong Chang-ki’s batting ball at the end of the 8th inning, which was a match-up. Kim Bum-soo, who made a relief mound with the base loaded, threw a slider on the 4th pitch on a 2-ball, 1-strike, inducing a grounder in the infield in front of the shortstop. However, it was a slow hit due to the high bounce, and it was a difficult situation to handle. Lee Do-yoon jumped forward and caught the ball, and threw the batter to first base with a running throw to put the batter out. Although he conceded a run, Lee Do-yoon’s defense was good as he made quick decisions without turning his eyes to other runners.토토사이트
Usually, infielders with little experience make a catch error in this case or forcefully throw home to prevent a run. However, Lee Do-yoon knew that even if he conceded, he still had one point to spare, and he focused on catching Hong Chang-gi, who was quick on his feet, and produced good results.
Ha Joo-seok’s shortstop defense is at the top level of the KBO League, but Lee Do-yoon’s defense makes Choi Won-ho say, ‘Lee Do-yoon is the starting shortstop’.
Lee Do-yoon, a former youth representative, graduated from Bukil High School and was a promising player wearing a Hanwha uniform in the 24th overall in the 2nd 3rd round in 2015. However, he spent more time in the 2nd team than in the 1st team, and he is seeing the light belatedly this season, which marked his 9th year.
With the discovery of Lee Do-yoon, Hanwha has a thing called depth at shortstop, and it is getting stronger.