[IS포커스]’Business trip suspension 10G, fine of 3 million won’ … Why did Ha Joo-seok explode?

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on the 21st that Joo-seok Ha (28, Hanwha Eagles), who had caused a stir for his radical protests, was suspended for 10 games, fined 3 million won, and sanctioned for 40 hours of youth baseball volunteer work.

The KBO held a reward and punishment committee on the 20th to deliberate on the so-called ‘helmet case’. On the 16th, Joo-Seok Ha withdrew from the 8th inning against the Lotte Giants by striking out a wasted swing at first base. After striking out, he immediately hit the bat hard on the floor. It was a protest against Lotte pitcher Seung-min Koo’s low first-ball fastball that was judged to be a strike.

The referee immediately ordered Ha Joo-seok to leave. After a violent protest, Ha returned to the dugout and threw the helmet he was wearing. The helmet bounced off a wall and struck head coach Wes Clements in the back of the head as he stood on the bench.

Ha Joo-suk’s actions caused a heated controversy. The Hanwha team eventually expunged him from the first team on the 17th, and the KBO referred him to the reward and punishment committee. On the 21st, the KBO said, “The penalty was imposed in accordance with Articles 1 and 7 of the league rules and regulations. He disturbed the order of the stadium with dangerous actions in front of many spectators. The state has asked the 10 clubs to take special precautions, including thorough training for their players, so that such a case does not recur.” The 10-day suspension and 3 million won fine is the second most severe punishment after the 20-day suspension and 2 million won fine that Mike Montgomery (Samsung Lions) received after protesting to the referee last year.

The 2022 KBO League match between the Hanwha Eagles and KT Wiz was held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the afternoon of the 29th. Hanwha’s Joo-seok Ha came out with one base in the ninth inning as a substitute for Park Sang-eon and sprinted with a right-handed hit with two RBIs. Suwon = Reporter Jeong Si-jong jung.sichong@joongang.co.kr /2022.05.29.

Why did Ha Joo-seok explode? Some fans are thinking of the documentary ‘Clubhouse’, which was released by Hanwha earlier this year. In this video, as President Ha missed a hit, he smashed his bat in the dug-out during the match. He received a ‘warning’ from coach Carlos Subero. Ha Joo-seok’s expression of anger has been criticized in the past for being excessive.

Some criticize Ha Joo-suk’s burden too much at Hanwha, which is undergoing reconstruction. Ha Joo-seok is still in his 20s, but he is close to being a junior in the team. Except for Choi Jae-hoon and Noh Soo-gwang, he has no seniors among the beasts.

Joo-seok Ha is the only player in his 20s among the captains of 10 clubs this season. The role of the claimant is invisible, but the burden is considerable. Kim Kang-min, who was the captain of the SK Wyverns (the predecessor of SSG Landers) in 2016, said, “It doesn’t look simple when you look at one. If there is something wrong, I have to tell it. I have no choice but to be concerned.”

A Hanwha official said, “It must have been difficult for Ha Joo-seok as the captain because both team and individual performance were poor.”

The burden on him in air and defense was also significant. Ha Joo-seok leads the defense as a shortstop and the oldest in the infield consisting of Jung Eun-won and Noh Si-hwan. Even in the attack, Subero has been playing a moderate role in him. Coach Subero, who hired Ha Ju-seok as a full-time 3rd batter last year, also used him the most as 5th (115 at bats) and 6th (75 at bats) batters this year.

The burden is increasing, but the results are not coming out. This season, Tin Ha’s batting average was 0.213 and his slugging percentage was only 0.292. The strikeout rate (K%) reached 27.9%. It is the worst since 2016. Hanwha also suffered eight straight losses until the 19th and is at the bottom (22 wins, 43 losses, 1 draw, win rate of 0.338).

By Cha Seung-yoon, staff reporter chasy99@edaily.co.kr