The Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, where “Monster” returned, sold out for two consecutive days (12,000 seats) from March 9 to 10. It is the first time in nine years that Hanwha has sold out at exhibition games since 2015. Spectators were full from March 7 to March 8 when new manager Kim Sung-keun was appointed. The return of Ryu seems to have heightened expectations among his fans. Ryu was scheduled to start against the Kia Tigers on March 12, and he stayed in the dugout all the time. 메이저사이트
Sajik Baseball Stadium also attracted 9,483 fans on Wednesday and 18,443 fans on Wednesday. For two days over the weekend, five stadiums including Daejeon and Sajik Baseball Stadium attracted a total of 74,162 spectators (average of 7,416). Excluding the Doosan and Kiwoom Heroes games held in Icheon Bears Park (Dusan Bears’ second-tier stadium), where accessibility is difficult due to construction of the Jamsil Baseball Stadium, the average attendance at four stadiums was 9,120. The average attendance at last year’s exhibition games was 2,527.
New faces that showed good pitching
Detrick Enns (32), a new recruit by the defending champion LG Twins, started the game against the KT Wiz on Monday and showed four hits (one homer) in four innings, one walk, eight strikeouts and two runs. He showed perfect pitching through the third inning by banking on his cut fastball, before giving up a two-run shot to Kang in the fourth inning. NC Dinos left-hander Kyle Hart allowed two hits (one homer) and two strikeouts and two runs in four innings against Kia on Tuesday local time. He was neat except for a two-run shot that Hwang Dae-in hit in the second inning.
Hwang Joon-seo (18), a left-hander who wore Hanwha’s uniform as the No. 1 player in the rookie draft, recorded a maximum speed of 146 kilometers per hour (average speed of 142 kilometers) in the game against the Samsung Lions on the 10th, allowing five hits, one walk, four strikeouts and one run in three innings. Kim Taek-yeon (18), who was selected by Doosan as the second-ranked player, took the mound as the last pitcher in the game against Kiwoom Heroes on the 9th and allowed no run in one inning.
The results of the new coaches
Although it was an exhibition game, Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyung caught SSG Landers for the second consecutive day. On the 9th, Na Kyun-an, who is controversial about his personal life, showed four hits and one run in four innings, and on the 10th, Jung Hoon hit a grand slam.
Manager Lee Sung-yong of SSG, who took the helm for the first time as a pro, experienced two consecutive losses. Park Jong-hoon, who showed poor performance last year, still showed signs of nervousness (seven hits and six runs in four innings on Tuesday). Lee Bum-ho, who suddenly led the Tigers after Kim Jong-kook, who was recently indicted without physical detention on charges of malpractice, was dismissed in late January, achieved a 1-1 draw against NC. Lee tested table setters of Park Chan-ho and Choi Won-joon for two days, but they combined had only one hit in 10 times at bat.
ABS is OK… The pitch clock is not well
On-site response to the “ABS” that has been applied since this year has generally been positive. Unlike in previous years, some hitters were embarrassed when a strike call was made to a high pitch outside, but none raised objections as the machine made consistent judgment. However, there were voices of concern over the pitch clock that is being tested. Under pitch clock conditions, a pitcher on the mound must throw the ball within 18 seconds when there is no runner, or within 23 seconds when there is one. Because candles were displayed on electronic boards, the offensive team’s spectators shouted and counted the seconds at some stadiums. “Pitchers are under psychological pressure,” KT manager Lee Kang-chul said in an interview with media. During the two-day weekend, pitch clock warnings to pitchers were issued (14 times on September 9 and 9 times on September 10). The KBO Secretariat will test-run pitch clock in the first half and consider introducing the second half.
Meanwhile, baseball hours were shortened due to pitch clock application and other reasons, but the game ended in 2 hours and 44 minutes on Wednesday and 2 hours and 39 minutes on Wednesday. Last year, the average time spent at exhibition games was 2 hours and 58 minutes.