In an away game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium on the 11th, Han Seung-hyuk pitched a relief pitcher in the bottom of the eighth inning with a perfect scoreless inning, including one strikeout, and laid a stepping stone to Hanwha’s 3-0 victory. In the third hold of the season, Ryu Hyun-jin became the winning pitcher in the KBO League for the first time in 4,216 days, along with Hanwha’s escape from five consecutive losses.
Although the game was focused on Ryu, it was Han Seung-hyuk who played in the bottom of the eighth inning. Having handled the first batter Kim Ki-yeon with a fly ball to the center field with just four pitches, Han became the next batter to hit the fifth fastball with a ball count of 1-2. 슬롯머신
At that moment, Jamsil Stadium was in chaos. The electronic display panel had the number “157” marked on it. Based on the official PTS standard of the KBO, the speed was measured to be 155 kilometers, but the spectators all exclaimed in unison at the tremendous speed.
Han, who threw out a fly ball to center field even Kim Dae-han with his sixth fastball, struck out Kim Tae-geun with a curveball falling for the fifth time. He pitched as aggressive as 11 fastballs out of 15 pitches, and managed to clean up the inning quickly.
It was quite a burdensome game for Han. In the seventh inning with his team leading 3-2 at the match against Doosan Bears on Sunday, he threw out the first batter, Jung Soo-bin, walked consecutively, and was substituted with runners at first and second bases with one out. Kim Bum-soo faced an upset three-run homer, and his team came from behind to lose, and Han took the loss.
Bad memories remained in the previous game, and it was quite burdensome that the team was losing five consecutive games. Above all, there was a burden to comply with the requirements of Ryu Hyun-jin, who pitched six scoreless innings, but Han Seung-hyuk defended very neatly. As a must-win group, the game showed stability and increased reliability.
Han has two losses in 10 games this season, but has three holds and an ERA of 3.52. He allowed five walks during seven ⅔ innings, but struck out six and posted a batting average of just 185. As the No. 1 pitcher in the PTS, Han has the best pitching capability. KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-chul, who saw Han Seung-hyuk for the first two years during the KIA Tigers, was also surprised by his fastballs, saying, “He is old enough to run out of control, but he is still in his 30s.”
However, Han’s psychological problem has always been his weakness due to anxiety over his ball control. However, with the introduction of the ABS (automatic pitching judgment system), high pitches have been easily caught, reducing the burden on his control. “ABS has the advantage of pitchers with good ball speed and ball control. High curves are also caught as strikes, which gives him confidence. If the ball count is in favor of him, he can throw balls with more confidence,” Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho said, referring to the ABS effect.
Han Seung-hyuk also said, “There was a perception that I was not good at controlling my ball, so I felt that referees were not even holding me with strikes when making decisions based on my own eyes. There were those things because it was done by humans, but now they are no longer there. I can enter with confidence in the zone.” This year, he also had 5.9 walks per nine innings, which is a large number, but his collapse has decreased. As he gained confidence, he is maximizing his fastball strengths without avoiding any damage.
Han, who was traded from KIA to Hanwha along with Jang Ji-soo, another pitcher, was sluggish last year after the 2022 season due to the opposing team’s promising slugger Byun Woo-hyuk. He lost three games and held one hold with a 6.44 ERA in 21 games (seven starts, 36 ⅓ innings). Although Byun only posted a batting average of 25.5 percent (45 hits in 200 times at bat) in 83 games, he showed some potential with seven homers and 24 RBIs, which is considered a failed trade by Hanwha. However, while Byun slowed down due to injury after starting the season with the second division this year, Han Seung-hyuk has emerged as Hanwha’s must-win group, undergoing a re-evaluation of the trade.