This season, Lee Seung-yeop (47), the new head coach, and Doosan, which is starting again, will be with a new captain. It was the captain’s appointment that contained the deep meaning of the command tower.
The main character who served as Doosan’s captain until last season was Kim Jae-hwan (35), a franchise star representing the team.
Jaehwan Kim joined Doosan in 2008 in the 4th round of the 2nd round and continued to play as a member of the Bears corps. Ahead of the 2022 season, he signed a free agent (FA) contract with Doosan for a total of 11.5 billion won over 4 years, and in fact, he will remain a Doosan man forever.
Kim Jae-hwan was first appointed as the captain at the spring camp in February of last year and led the team for one season. Kim Jae-hwan, who already had the experience of captaining in the 2021 season, was evaluated internally for playing the role of captain well.
Kim Jae-hwan, who had been like that, now passes on the captain’s armband to his junior Heo Gyeong-min (33). This is in contrast to maintaining Oh Ji-hwan as the captain without change despite the appointment of new director Yeom Gyeong-yeop by LG, the ‘rival next door’.
Regarding this, head coach Lee Seung-yeop, the commanding tower, said, “Kim Jae-hwan was sluggish last year. It seems that he had a sense of pressure. He is the team’s main gun. If Kim Jae-hwan does not improve in the game, the team atmosphere may deteriorate. Didn’t the burden double as he took over as captain? I want to, so I wanted to relieve that burden.”
Kim Jae-hwan played in 128 games last season, recording a batting average of 0.248 (111 hits in 448 bats), 23 homers, 72 RBIs, 64 runs, a slugging percentage of 0.460, and an on-base percentage of 0.340. Home runs also decreased compared to the 2020 season (30) and 2021 season (27), but above all, the batting average was the lowest since the 2015 season (0.235).
It can be said that the central hitter occupies a large portion of the team. It is also the center hitter who can change the flow of the game at once. A decisive blow can also give a team a winning streak. Coach Lee is a 4th hitter like Kim Jae-hwan. Knowing the importance of a central hitter better than anyone else, it was possible to make this decision to replace the captain. Moreover, director Lee highly appreciated Heo Kyung-min’s amicable personality.
Coach Lee praised Heo Kyung-min as a player with leadership and team-first spirit. He said, “Heo Gyeong-min is never a quiet player. He is a player who can raise the mood of the team. I think he has the ability to take care of both sides in the middle between senior and junior. . And now I’m old enough to do it.”
‘Captain’ Heo Kyung-min also understood Lee’s thoughts better than anyone else. He said, “I had a meeting with the coach during last year’s finish camp, and he first talked about the captaincy. At that time, there was a two-second silence. In fact, I thought something had come. I know very well that being the captain is not easy.”
“I’ve seen what many seniors have done. Rather than following someone, I think it would be better to do it my way. There will be difficult moments during the season, but there are strong brothers next to me. I think they will help. “He expressed hope.
Heo Kyung-min is loved by many colleagues and fans for his sincere training attitude and sincere attitude towards baseball. Doosan fans’ expectations are rising as to whether Heo Gyeong-min will fulfill Lee’s expectations and play the role of captain for the 2023 season. 스포츠토토