Ha Joo-seok (29, Hanwha Eagles) is close to being cleared, and could be back on the field as early as the 29th. What does Hanwha have in mind for him?바카라
Ha was caught driving under the influence in Daejeon on November 19 last year. His license was suspended. It was the end of the final training session after the end of the season. Moreover, it was early in the morning. Hanwha reported the incident to the KBO’s Clean Baseball Center, and the KBO subsequently suspended him for 70 games.
This wasn’t his only controversy: on June 16 last year, after striking out against the Lotte Giants, he threw his helmet in anger at a strike call. He was fined 3 million won and suspended for 10 games. Before the controversy had even cooled down, he was caught driving under the influence of alcohol, and public opinion of Ha was at an all-time low.
Hanwha is also in an emergency. Accusations are accusations, and they lost their starting shortstop.
Still, Hanwha had to play the season. They signed Oh Seon-jin as a free agent and used Lee Do-yoon and Park Jung-hyun as backups.
The current starting shortstop is Lee Do-yoon. Oh Seon-jin is batting .233 and is out with a hamstring injury. Park Jung-hyun is on the second team due to a slump.
Lee has played 227 innings with five errors. He has also been contributing at the plate, especially since mid-June.
Hanwha has completed 69 games as of July 27. Ha Joo-seok’s suspension is one day away from being lifted.
It’s time to start thinking about his future. Even if Lee Do-yoon is playing well, Ha has more experience in the defense.
Choi Won-ho said, “To put it bluntly, Ha Joo-seok’s defense at shortstop is the best in the KBO. I can’t deny that. There’s no reason not to play him when the conditions are right,” he said.
Naturally, attention turns to the timing of his return.
Given the team’s performance, it’s hard to put off Ha Joo-seok’s return. Having escaped from the bottom of the table, Hanwha is looking to make a leap into the mid-table. After the 27th, Hanwha will be only four games behind fifth-place Doosan.
Choi said, “Ha Joo-suk has been out for eight months. He hasn’t played a single game. Once his suspension is over, he needs to play. So it may take some time.”
Hanwha did not send Ha Joo-suk to any reserve team games during his suspension. While it’s not against the rules to play in reserve games, there are situations where players are exposed to opposing teams, such as independent clubs or university teams, which can put pressure on both the player and the team.
However, if he’s playing defense instead of hitting, his return could be accelerated. He could be called up as early as the first half of the season.
“Actually, Ha Joo-seok is a player with high defense, not a player with high batting ability,” Choi said, explaining, “If you look at his defense, you can see a short time (for his return).”
“I will use him only if he is ready for the first team and the club is okay with it,” Choi said, emphasizing that “if one or the other doesn’t work, I won’t use him.”
