I think it's changed a lot...Will I regain my reputation after five years with full support for baseball that I play as a part of my confidence

Jan 06, 2025

Shim Woo-jun. Hanwha Eagles SNS Capture

Shim Woo-jun taking a photo with Hanwha General Manager Sohn Hyuk. Photo courtesy = Hanwha Eagles

Will Shim Woo-joon (30), who is making a fresh start for Hanwha Eagles, be able to bring the title of 'Daedo' once again.

Hanwha signed Shim Woo-joon for a four-year total of 5 billion won after the end of last year's season.

Shim Woo-joon is an outfielder with stable defense. He even has the experience of leading KT Wiz's first unified championship in 2021.

Shim Woo-joon's physical strength, who plays more than 130 games from 2018 to 2022, is also an advantage.

Hanwha has been disappointed in the shortstop position in recent years. Ha Joo-seok, who played as the main shortstop for a long time, was also disciplined for personal problems. In 2023 and 2024, Lee Do-yoon showed clear growth in attack and defense, but he decided that he needed an infielder to firmly center the center line. Moreover, strengthening defense was also a more necessary factor in Hanwha, which has many young pitchers.

Shim Woo-jun, who won the 2020 steal award. Photo courtesy =KBO

The defense was not the only part that Hanwha was attracted to Shim Woo-joon. The main focus, which rose to 'Doluwang', was also cited as a positive factor.

Shim Woo-joon stole 35 bases in 2020 and became the first steal king of his debut. Since then, he has shown off his main strength by succeeding in double-digit steals for two consecutive years. Last year, when he returned from military service, he played in 53 games and stole the bases seven times.

Although he has consistently shown his main strength, Shim Woo-joon has been somewhat far from the steal competition since he became the steal king in 2020. The on-base percentage was high, but he couldn't boldly steal the base.

Manager Kim Kyung-moon, who took the helm of Hanwha in the middle of last year, is one of the coaches who highly value 'Playing Baseball'.

Even when he led the Doosan Bears from 2004 to 2011, and served as the NC Dinos head coach from 2012 to 2018, 'running baseball' continued. At that time, Doosan topped the team's stolen base from 2006 to 2008, and in 2013 and 2014, 50 stealers came out one after another. In addition, in 2015, three players with 40 steals were Park Min-woo (46 steals), Kim Jong-ho (41 steals), and Eric Thames (40 steals).

The KIA-Hanwha match held at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 27th. With Hanwha winning 8-0, head coach Kim Kyung-moon is giving high fives with the players. Daejeon = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.9.27/

At the inauguration ceremony in June last year, Kim also played baseball. Coach Kim said "I heard that the team steal in 2023 was last place. There are many ways to score. If any team has a fast player, I think the team is strong. I think Hanwha should also find a fast player and a player who can steal", he also said. In 2023, Hanwha ranked 9th in stolen bases (30), and the success rate remained at the bottom with 62.5%.

Hanwha also ranked ninth overall last year after KT Wiz (61) with 69 team stolen bases. The steal success rate was at the bottom at 62.7%. From the 2025 season, the baseball style pursued by head coach Kim Kyung-moon is expected to come out in earnest. There is a high possibility that the number of stolen bases will increase significantly than before.

Shim Woo-joon, wearing Hanwha's uniform, will be the vanguard of 'football' Shim Woo-joon also expressed his intention to match the color. Shim Woo-joon "To be honest, I think it's changed a lot since director Kim Kyung-moon came. They're actively doing the base running. Also, I could see him running to the end until the first base. I'm confident in that. I think I'll be able to get used to it quickly"He expressed his determination.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.