[마이데일리 = 김진성 기자] “Actually, I want Han Seung-taek more.”
KIA has not been able to make a clear starting catcher after Kim Sang-hoon, battery coach, retired at the end of 2014. SK transfused Kim Min-sik at the beginning of the 2017 season. He even managed to win the championship. But the tragedy was not over. Kim Min-sik’s growth was surprisingly slow. Han Seung-taek was no different. The two have been playing alternately for the past two or three years. To be honest, neither of them showed off their main impact.
In the end, in the process of preparing for the 2022 season, general manager Jang Jeong-seok has been negotiating a trade with Kiwoom with Park Dong-won as the number one signing. And one month after the opening, Park Dong-won was brought in. Park Dong-won is a solid starting catcher for the KIA. Coach Kim Jong-guk dropped Han Seung-taek into the second team immediately after Park Dong-won joined the team and used Kim Min-sik as a backup. In the beginning, this season started with Kim Min-sik and backup Han Seung-taek, so it was a natural procedure.
However, through the trade with SSG on the 9th, the future value and hierarchy of the Tigers home was clearly arranged. For the past two weeks, Park Dong-won’s backup catcher in the first team was Kim Min-sik. However, it was revealed that internally, the value of Han Seung-taek was higher than that of Kim Min-sik.
This is because he actively protected Han Seung-taek in the trade negotiations with SSG. SSG general manager Ryu Seon-gyu said, “We were not in a position to choose.” This is because the trade itself was made because SSG strongly wanted it. However, it is known that he wanted Han Seung-taek, born in 1994, 5 years younger than Kim Min-sik, born in 1989, if at all possible.
KIA general manager Jang Jeong-seok said, “Both Kim Min-sik and Han Seung-taek are great catchers. In fact, when negotiating a trade, the opposing teams want Han Seung-taek. It’s because he’s younger than Kim Min-sik.
The reason that Kim Min-sik and Han Seung-taek have not been solid main catchers in the past is due to their poor hitting. It is difficult to differentiate between superiority and superiority here. However, it is evaluated that Han Seung-taek is better in defense such as blocking. According to the baseball statistics site Stattis, Han Seung-taek’s WAA (Winning Contribution to Substitutes) for the 2021 season was 0.667, ranking fifth.
Of course, Kim Min-sik has a good ability to stop theft. This is the decisive reason why SSG, whose stealing rate is so bad this season, took Min-sik Kim. Han Seung-taek’s stealing rate this season is also 25%, which is behind Kim Min-sik’s 36.4%, but it’s not too bad. And, crucially, 5 years younger. It was natural for KIA to protect Han Seung-taek.
A picture that creates synergy through fair competition without a firm hierarchy is also good. However, the catcher is a special position. Experience and resilience are very important. In the case of KIA, it was closer to ‘unsettled’ than synergy. Now, with Park Dong-won and Han Seung-taek, the main room has been thoroughly rearranged, taking care of the present and the future at the same time.
Behind Han Seung-taek are Shin Beom-su, born in 1998, Kim Seon-woo, born in 2001, and Kwon Hyuk-kyung, born in 2002. However, they are so inexperienced that it is difficult to use them in the first team right now. In the end, Han Seung-taek’s role is also important for the next three to five years. After Park Dong-won’s heyday, he ranks first in the starting lineup. And catchers in their early twenties need to buy time to grow.
Although KIA viewed Han Seung-taek’s future value highly, there was also consideration and respect for Kim Min-sik. Director Jang said, “Isn’t Dong-Won Dong-Won and Min-Sik Kim the same age? (Min-Sik Kim is one year older). The burden of being of a similar age was a lot of pressure. As they get older, the time of retirement approaches.” In a situation where catcher Dong-won Park, who can run 20 home runs, is the main player, it opened the way for Min-sik Kim, who must see the game of his baseball life right away.
[한승택. 사진 = 마이데일리 사진 DB]
Correspondent Kim Jin-seong kkomag@mydaily.co.kr
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