“Rather than blaming the coach, I think I thought I was inadequate. As a player, it is up to the coach to follow his choices, so I willingly agreed to let him know.”
Doosan Bears slugger Yang Seok-hwan (32) was replaced as a pinch hitter in the game against Samsung Lions in Jamsil on the 8th. If you were a central hitter, it was a situation where your pride could naturally be hurt. In the bottom of the 9th inning, when the team was down 6-7, leadoff hitter Kim Jae-hwan walked, and Yang Seok-hwan came to bat, and Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop took out the pinch hitter Lee Yu-chan card. He calculated that he would bunt, send the runner to second base, and look out for the next one.
Normally, Coach Lee would have entrusted the strong attack to Yang Seok-hwan. Seok-Hwan Yang also had two hits at the time. However, the afterimage of Yang Seok-hwan’s missed swing and strikeout in the top of the 9th inning against the Lotte Giants on the 4th when the team was down 3-4 and had a chance to reach first and second base with no outs remained. This is why I decided to go with Lee Yu-chan, a batter who can bunt better.
In the end, the operation worked. Lee Yu-chan’s sacrifice bunt put the team on second base with one out, and Kang Seung-ho’s timely hit hit balanced the score at 7-7. Afterwards, the team won the game 8-7 thanks to an error made by third baseman Gye-beom Park at the plate when he caught a ground ball. Director Lee smiled with relief after succeeding in an operation that would have resulted in heavy criticism if it had ended in failure.
Coach Lee only thought about winning the game, but as he was a central hitter, he was fully aware that Yang Seok-hwan’s pride could be hurt. Before replacing a pinch hitter, he went to Yang Seok-hwan in person, explained his reasons, and asked for his understanding. Yang Seok-hwan fully understood the coach’s feelings.
Yang Seok-hwan said, “As a result, we won the game. I think the coach’s choice was right. If I had been a player who showed more presence like (Yang) Eui-ji, I would not have been replaced. Rather than blaming the coach, I think I thought I was inadequate. “I think the coach made that choice because we actually failed once in Busan that week. I think it was an inevitable choice because we had good players behind us,” he looked back calmly.
He continued, “The manager came to me before pinch-hitting and said, ‘I’m sorry, but due to the situation, I have to substitute,’ so I said I understood. I can’t force myself to hit in that situation. If I say I’ll hit and the results are bad, I have to use my own courage (laughter) ). He added, “Because players follow the coach’s choices, they willingly agreed to do so.”
Yang Seok-hwan said that the pinch hitter replacement incident “didn’t cause any stimulation,” but his performance has been gradually rising since that day. He has consistently increased his RBI in the scoring range and contributed greatly to the team’s recent 6 consecutive wins. On the 17th, against the Gwangju KIA Tigers, he started as the third hitter and first baseman and led the team to an 8-3 victory with 3 hits in 5 at-bats, 4 RBIs, and a big hit.
After the game, Yang Seok-hwan said,스포츠토토 “I was not good in scoring range all season. Today (17th), I feel good because I hit a hit that scored an important score at every opportunity. It seems to be a good batting cycle. I also feel that I have definitely improved a lot compared to when I was bad. “I think we need to keep this feeling for a long time,” he said emphatically.
Seok-Hwan Yang is a player who takes the lead in congratulating his teammates for their good work more than anyone else at Doosan. When Kang Seung-ho achieved a reverse cycle of hitting a home run, triple, double, and single in that order for the first time in the KBO in the Gwangju KIA game on the 15th, and when Doosan achieved 11 consecutive wins, the most in the club’s history in July, and when Kwak Bin achieved the most in his life When he achieved his first 10 wins, when captain Heo Gyeong-min hit a dramatic walk-off hit in the game against Jamsil SSG Landers on the 14th, etc., Yang Seok-hwan always rushed to the ground with both hands full of water and congratulated his teammates the warmest. Now, Yang Seok-hwan must become a player who can receive such congratulations so that Doosan can gain even more momentum in its fight for the top five at the end of the season.
Yang Seok-hwan said, “I think that if I come forward and celebrate more than anyone else when there is something to celebrate, good things will happen. If there is something to congratulate the players on the same team, I think I try to take the lead in congratulating them,” and said that he will swing the bat even more passionately for the rest of the season. I promised. As he will qualify as a free agent for the first time in his life after this season, I hope that both the individual and the team will finish the season with better results.
Coach Lee explained the team’s recent atmosphere and said, “I think it’s better than when we won 11 games in a row.” It was worth it as they continued their winning streak with dramatic wins amidst a fierce battle for the final five.
Athletes feel similar feelings. Yang Seok-hwan said, “I think the atmosphere is a little better right now because we keep winning difficult games. I think the atmosphere is better when we have consecutive wins in very important situations.” He said he hopes to maintain the hot atmosphere until the end of the season. I was determined to do my best.