Hanwha selected infielder Oh Sun-jin (35) with the ninth overall pick in the second round of the KBO Draft last November. After leaving in a trade and returning to his “home team” as a free agent, Oh played all four infield positions last year: shortstop (40 games, 219⅔ innings), third base (30 games, 127 innings), second base (eight games, 30 innings), and first base (six games, 25 innings). While covering the spots the team needed, he also hit well at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a .292 slugging percentage.
With Oh leaving the team after just one year, Hanwha is in need of an all-weather infielder, and the No. 1 candidate to fill that spot is rookie infielder Hwang Young-mook, 25. Selected by Hanwha with the 31st overall pick in the fourth round of the 2024 KBO Rookie Draft in September last year, the right-handed hitting infielder came out of the independent league and was immediately evaluated.
Hwang has an unusual background. He went to Chung Hoon High School in 2018, but dropped out after a year and headed to the independent league. 토토사이트 He chose the independent league because it allowed him to focus on baseball instead of studying.
His goal was to become a professional baseball player rather than a college diploma.
Under the rules that allow college dropouts to apply for the KBO rookie draft in the same year as their normal graduation year, he made a long-term plan for two years of military service and four years in the independent league. After playing a year with the Seongnam Blue Panthers in 2019 and serving in the military, he entered the professional ranks with the Scoreborne Hyenas in 2021 and the Yeoncheon Miracle in 2022-2023.
In four seasons in the independent league, he “calmed down” to a career batting average of 4.026 with 200 hits in 471 at-bats. He had a 23-game hitting streak and a cycling hit. His primary position was shortstop, but he was also recognized for his all-around defense in the infield. Hanwha saw his desperation to play baseball and selected him, and he is highly regarded within the team, even participating in the Miyazaki, Japan finalization camp shortly after joining the team.
“I trained a lot during the final camp,” says Hwang. I was an older rookie, but my older brothers made it easy for me, so I played baseball without looking at them.” “Manager Choi Won-ho emphasized a lot about strategy from the meeting before entering the camp. I also practiced bunting a lot, which I didn’t do often in the independent league because I was hitting in the center field. It was a good time to play the kind of baseball I used to play.”
In the final camp
Choi Won-ho focused on bunting in the offense and multi-positioning in the defense along with various operational exercises. Hwang Young-mook practiced all three infield positions, except for first base. In a long season, there are many variables and it is essential to have an all-around player who can cover multiple positions. Hwang Young-mook is likely to play this role in Hanwha’s infield without Oh Seon-jin.
“My coach told me that I need to be able to play multiple positions to be more versatile. I’m preparing to play any position in the infield,” Hwang said. “I’m currently in a rookie camp in Seosan. We have different coaches every week, and I’m getting a lot of help from their different know-how. I can do as much weight as I want, and I like the environment at the training center.”
Hwang Young-mook, 사설 토토사이트 who received the number 95, said, “It means a lot to have a double-digit number. I don’t know where I will go for spring camp, but I want to go to the first team,” he said, adding, “My goal is to be on the opening day roster.”