“Fall baseball is a possibility. The record speaks for itself.”

Hanwha Eagles manager Choi Won-ho, who has won eight straight games in just 51 days on the job, expressed confidence in the team’s chances of advancing to fall baseball in an interview with the Daejeon Ilbo on Thursday at Hanwha Eagles Park in Daejeon.

Choi, who joined Hanwha as the head coach of the Futures in November 2019, was named the 13th head coach of the Hanwha Eagles on May 12 after serving as acting head coach in 2020.

Speaking about the eight-game winning streak, Choi said, “It came out of nowhere, and even my mom was in tears. The players are also overwhelmed,” Choi said, adding, “Regardless of the results, we feel a responsibility to show good performance for the fans who have believed and supported us for a long time.”

Choi credits his experience in the Futures League and as an acting head coach as the foundation for the winning streak.

“Before joining the Futures, I prepared for the advanced countries’ practices and development systems, and being an acting head coach was also a great study,” Choi said. “These experiences were the basis for me to take my time and move in a planned manner even though I was appointed in the middle of the season.”

Being inside Hanwha was also an advantage. It’s easier to evaluate a player’s skills and tendencies, and it’s less likely that a teammate will falter because they can maintain the big picture.

As for the game against Samsung on the second day, which unfortunately ended their nine-game winning streak, Choi says they were “unlucky”.

“We didn’t have a good strategy against pitcher Won Tae-in,” Choi said, “but we didn’t miss any chances because we were unlucky, such as Chae Eun-sung and Moon Hyun-bin’s hits being caught by the defense at the end or Samsung’s offense being called safe at home.”

“I think we should approach it from a simple logic of playing players who are good through natural competition rather than developing specific players,” he said. “For now, I think Lee Tae-yang, Han Seung-yup, and Han Seung-joo are fine, and we can consider Kim Ki-jung, Nam Ji-min, Park Joon-young, Kim Seo-hyun, and Jeong Eun-won as starting prospects in the future.”먹튀검증

As for Kim Seo-hyun, who has been struggling with his fastball, he added that he will be put in the first team when he is ready through solid training.

Regarding Ha Joo-seok, who played in the Futures game, Choi said, “I have the intention to lead him, but I have to go through several processes, including verification of whether he is ready to play properly in the first team, how much he will be different from Lee Do-yoon when he comes up, and the club’s decision.”

Choi aims to develop prospects by establishing a ‘farm system’.

Through scientific motion analysis and systematic training, he aims to help players grow quickly and minimize injuries. He also emphasized the importance of establishing detailed standards to improve efficiency with fewer pitchers and a high level of understanding among coaches to implement them.

“The 1-0 win over Kia was a turning point in the players’ confidence,” Choi said, “We’re within striking distance with eight consecutive wins, so we’ll do our best to close the gap and achieve good results at times like this.”