“I don’t know how many people I’ve done so far.”
The Hanwha Eagles broke up with Mike Tuckman after the 2022 season ended. Tuckman played in 144 games wearing a Hanwha uniform last year, recording 166 hits, 12 homers, 43 RBIs, 88 runs, and a batting average of 0.289 OPS of 0.795. However, they disagreed on the terms of the contract, and in the end, their companionship came to an end after a year.먹튀검증
Hanwha started looking for a new foreign hitter immediately after the relationship with Tuchman was sorted out, and signed a contract with Brian O’Grady for a total of $900,000 ($700,000 annual salary, $200,000 in incentives). If Tuchman had the most regrettable part while playing for Hanwha, it was his long hitting power. Hanwha decided that O’Grady could fill this gap.
The grounds for having his expectations were clear. O’Gredi proved that he has ‘power’ by hitting 28 home runs in Triple-A under the Cincinnati Reds in the 2019 season, and the reason why he hit 91 home runs in his 7 minor league seasons. There was another attractive point of O’Grady. It is the fact that I experienced Asian baseball.
O’Grady played for the Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball last year and played in 123 games, recording 86 hits, 46 RBIs, and 42 runs with a batting average of 0.213. He wasn’t the most sophisticated player, but it was certainly worth noting that he hit 15 home runs. Hanwha judged that O’Grady would be able to succeed in the KBO League, which is one level lower than Japan.
O’Gredi showed off his one-shot ability by hitting three home runs in 12 exhibition games. However, his batting average was only 0.114. He has the power to pass the fence if hit properly with the bat, but the problem is that he can hardly hit the ball. This problem continued into the regular season. O’Grady failed to make an arch in 22 games, and his batting average was abysmal at .125. Even in the second group, his batting average was serious at 0.179.
Hanwha waited for O’Grady to revive even after firing head coach Carlos Subero, who had been in charge of the team for the past three years. However, the news he expected was not heard, and on the 31st of last month, he finally pulled out his knife. Hanwha officially announced that it had “requested the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to publicize a waiver for foreign hitter Brian O’Grady.”
A week has passed since I put an end to my companionship with O’Grady. However, there has been no announcement about the recruitment of new foreign hitters by Hanwha yet. Insensitive news. How far has Hanwha’s recruitment of new foreign hitters progressed? Prior to the match against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on the 7th, coach Choi Won-ho was asked about foreign hitters.
The command tower said, “There are times when the club notifies us that negotiations are impossible even though we are putting in an identity check, and if a player refuses to come at all, they are called up to the major leagues, or other players say they can’t go because of family problems. The overall scale is reduced, so the players are not released well. They say that if you pay the transfer fee, they will tie up all the players who were released.”
Is it because Hanwha’s ‘eyes’ are high that they are having difficulties in recruiting? It is the ‘team chemistry’, the style of foreign batters that coach Choi Won-ho prefers. A player who can lift the atmosphere as a team first rather than a player with individualistic tendencies. He expressed his desire, “I hope that a player full of energy will come. Of course, it would be better if he could hit well, but I hope that a player who can be a vital force by blending in with the team’s batting line will come.”
The command tower also mentioned Manny Martinez, who ate a pot of rice during his active career, and Niger Morgan, who played for Hanwha. He said, “In a team that doesn’t have a lot of depth like our team, the proportion of foreign hitters is very large. I want a player who overflows. I like a player who hits about 15 homers, has good focus, and can boost the overall energy of the team.”
First of all, it is an undeniable reality that Hanhwa is having difficulties recruiting foreign batters. The command tower said, “(Recruitment) is getting delayed. Until now, I didn’t know much about the process of recruiting foreign hitters, but it was very complicated, such as identification inquiries and consultations with agents and doctors. I don’t know how many people have been done so far. It’s not even,” he said.
As of the start of the game on the 7th, Hanwha has reduced the number of candidates to two. However, it is unknown whether it will be possible to proceed with recruitment due to many variables. What kind of players will come into contact with Hanwha?