The catcher of the '300 batting average' winning team was pushed behind the '100 batting average'...KIA Han Jun-su was eliminated from the final entry, 'the first Taegeuk mark failed'
The catcher of the '300 batting average' winning team was pushed behind the '100 batting average'...KIA Han Jun-su was eliminated from the final entry, 'the first Taegeuk mark failed'
Blog Article
KIA Tigers' "300 catcher" Han Jun-su (25) missed his first Taegeuk mark in front of his eyes.
The KBO Power Reinforcement Committee and the national team's coaching staff confirmed and announced the final list of 28 Team Korea players to participate in the 2024 WBSC Premier 12 tournament on the 7th.
Among the 34 players who were participating in the national team training until the 6th, six players, including pitchers Kim Si-hoon (NC Dinos), Um Sang-baek (KT Wiz), Jeon Sang-hyun (KIA), Cho Min-seok (Sangmu), infielder Kim Young-woong (Samsung Lions), and catcher Han Jun-su, failed to join the final list.
Han Jun-su, who was highly anticipated as the first pick in the 2018 rookie draft and wore a KIA uniform, had his best season with full potential this year, his seventh year as a member. Han Jun-su, who was guaranteed more opportunities to play under the new coach Lee Bum-ho, shared his playing time with veteran Kim Tae-gun and recorded an excellent performance of .307 (88 hits in 287 at-bats) in 115 games with seven home runs, 41 RBIs and an OPS of 0.807. KIA, which built a solid home ground by complementing each other's weaknesses in defense and Han Jun-su in offense, enjoyed the joy of winning the unified championship for the first time in seven years.
Though he failed to meet the required number of at-bats, Han Jun-su showed off remarkable offense. Among catchers who played 70 percent or more of the required number of times at bat this season, he ranked second in the batting average after Yang Eui-ji (0.314) of the Doosan Bears. He had a higher batting average than Kang Min-ho (0.303), who succeeded in rejuvenating, and was the only catcher in his 20s with a batting average of around 300 and an OPS of 0.8 or higher. Han Jun-su is the first catcher with a batting average of 300 or higher (based on 70 percent or more of the required number of times at bat) by the Tigers (including Haitai and KIA).
Based on this performance, Junsu was listed on the preliminary list of the Premier 12 national team. On September 12, the KBO Power Reinforcement Committee submitted a 60-member preliminary list to the World Baseball Softball Association (WBSC), and Han Junsu was listed along with Kim Hyung-joon (NC), Kim Ki-yeon (Doosan), and Son Sung-bin (Lotte) in the catcher position with four players selected. A month later, on October 11, the 35-member roster of Team Korea training call-ups announced were missing Kim Ki-yeon and Son Sung-bin, and Park Dong-won (LG Twins) joined the team. Manager Ryu Joong-il has virtually selected Park Dong-won as the main catcher, who has a one-shot ability in the lineup, while keeping the center of the team as a veteran catcher.
Han Jun-su was unfortunately unable to make the shortlist after competing with Kim Hyung-joon for the backup catcher position. Kim Hyung-joon had a very low batting average of 0.195 this season, but he showed his power as a "fearful 100% hitter" with 17 home runs and 50 RBIs in 119 games. Han Jun-su, the "300 batter," was hampered by his lack of experience and relatively poor defense despite his excellent offense.
According to Stattiz, 메이저놀이터 a baseball statistics site, Han Jun-su, who played 600 innings in a catcher's mask this season, recorded 0.570 (32 wild pitches and 6 foils) per nine innings. This was the highest among nine catchers who played more than 96 games. On the other hand, Kim Hyung-joon, while playing 870 ⅓ innings, recorded fewer foils (five wild pitches and 25 wild pitches), ranking at least second (0.310 and Kim Tae-gun, 0.239) in the Pass9 category. In terms of the steal blocking rate, Kim Hyung-joon also showed a level record of 37.8 percent (51 allowed/31 blocked), while Han Jun-su showed weakness at 19 percent (47 allowed/11 blocked).
Kim Hyung-joon also received additional points for playing the role of the main catcher at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) last year. Han Jun-su, who had his best season since joining the professional league, looked at the national flag for the first time in his life, but he was one step behind in the final competition to pursue the next opportunity.