I think he will definitely get better.”
Despite a slump that saw his batting average drop to the low teens, Kim Won-hyung’s confidence in Han Yoo-seom (SSG Landers) remained unchanged.
A product of Jungangcho, Daecheonjoong, Gyeongnam High School, and Kyungsung University, Han is a right-handed hitting outfielder who was selected in the ninth round (85th overall) by SSG’s predecessor, the SK Wyverns, in the 2012 rookie draft. His natural power is his biggest strength, and through last season, he had a .272 batting average with 166 home runs, 542 RBIs and an OPS of 0.879 in 875 games.
Han Yoo-seom swung the bat in the 2018 and 2022 seasons, helping his team win the Korean Series. But he hasn’t been smiling this year. He suffered a severe hitting slump from the start of the season. He was sent down to the second team halfway through the season, and as of eight games ago, he was batting just .189 (34-for-180) with two home runs and 22 RBIs.
Han’s struggles have been linked to a batting form modification he tried during the offseason. He felt that his old stance was putting him at risk for injury, so he changed his stance to be slightly higher.
However, he was unable to adapt to the new form. In the month of April, he didn’t hit a single home run and batted just .183.
In May, he announced his return to his old batting form. When we caught up with him after his game-winning hit against the Gochuk Kiwoom Heroes on May 7 (SSG’s 7-6 win), he said, “I can’t blame anyone for it (the batting form change) because it was a challenge I took on. I can’t call it a failure, but I want to put meaning in the fact that I tried. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s the right time to be stubborn,” he said.
But he hasn’t been the same since. Despite hitting two home runs in May, he batted just .213 during the month. In June, he hit just .135.
In response to Han’s slump, SSG head coach Kim Won-hyung said, “I modified my batting form in camp this year because I wanted to get better, but I didn’t see results. I went back to my original batting form, and I think that’s where a lot of the difference came from.”토토사이트
“(Originally) (Han) Yoo-seom was not a player with a good batting average, but a player who showed long-hitting power, and I think the overall balance collapsed,” Kim added.
Han Yoo-seom is a well-known “hard worker” in the KBO. His manager didn’t doubt his rebound.
“I think (Han Yoo-seom) will definitely get better,” Kim Won-hyung said, “He’s not the type of player to slack off, so I think he’ll rebound because he’s been thinking about it and it’s been going on.”
Can Han Yusum repay Kim’s faith in him and provide SSG’s long-hitting offense, something the team needs as it currently sits in second place with 45 wins, one draw and 30 losses and is in a tight race for first place with the LG Twins (48 wins, two draws and 28 losses).