"Now all you have to do is do well in baseball." 207.4 billion won 'Hanwha Life Ballpark' is heading for autumn baseball of dreams
"Now all you have to do is do well in baseball." 207.4 billion won 'Hanwha Life Ballpark' is heading for autumn baseball of dreams
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This was brought up by an official who was explaining the new stadium at the press day held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the morning of the 20th.바카라사이트
Once in 2018, Hanwha made its way to the fall baseball league, but has remained at the bottom of the list since 2007. Indeed, Hanwha fans are called Bodhisattvas.
Those good reasons are disappearing one by one. There were no players who showed good potential and there were times when free agents were actively recruited, but the virtuous cycle did not go well.
However, now a large number of young players are showing potential for growth, and many of them have actually played as main players, raising hope.
Now they have no choice but to make excuses. The Hanwha Life Ballpark, which will be used from this season after three years of massive construction, is set to open at 207.4 billion won (150 million U.S. dollars) for the project (15 billion won for national expenses, 143.8 billion won for Daejeon City and 48.6 billion won for Hanwha Life. It is a state-of-the-art stadium with a total floor area of 58,594 square meters with 20,7 seats for spectators from the second basement floor to the fourth floor. Since its initial design, the stadium has made 112 changes while communicating with the team. As such, the team has created a club that reflects what the team wants as much as possible.
Infinity Pool was installed for the first time in the world on the fourth floor of the third base. A space where visitors can play in the water and enjoy camping will be installed in the space behind it, which will appeal to baseball fans with unique charms that Hanwha Life Insurance's ballpark can offer.
Its unique structure also attracts attention. The wall reminds people of Green Monster at Fanway Park, the home ground of the Boston Red Sox in the Major League Baseball. The five-pronged outfield is designed to have a unique fence shape, but the distance from home plate to left fence is 99 meters, but the short distance from home plate to right fence is 95 meters, and instead, the 32-meter-high Monster Wall has been erected on the right fence for the first time in Asia. While the height of the fence is 2.4 meters from the left and right centers, it is 8 meters from the right center to the foul line.
"The right-hand monster wall is designed to keep the game dynamic," said an official from Daejeon City. In fact, the monster wall is expected to bring a big change to the upcoming game at Hanwha Life Insurance Ballpark. No matter how hard the ball is hit, it will be easy to witness a single hit unless the angle of launch is drawn enough. It is expected to be recognized as an infamous stadium for left-handed hitters, but since left-handed hitters did not have a high proportion of homers, there is a strong possibility that it will be a positive development.
They will receive more home fans' support. Last year, Hanwha sold out a whopping 47 out of 71 home games. This is the highest ever recorded in the Korean pro baseball league, and the previous record was 36 by the Samsung Lions in 1995.
However, this was partly due to the limitations of Hanwha Life Eagles Park, which has a small capacity of 12,000 seats. The stadium has 20,000 seats, and a club official said, "There are cases where there are spaces left in various parts of the stadium. The club is scrambling to add these spaces as seats."
The structure of the bullpen is also new. A bullpen session will be set up inside the Monster Wall structure, and pitchers from the home team will warm up on the first floor and the away team on the second floor.
Infinity Pool is also installed in the space on the fourth floor of the third base side. It provides unique fun to play in the water and play baseball at the same time. The company is planning to install a more diverse way to enjoy the new stadium, such as a camping area in the space after that.
The former Hanwha Life Eagles Park was a disappointment to the team due to its aging facilities. Now there are spaces where people can train and relax as much as they want. Conditions have been prepared in which some people say, "All you have to do is do well in baseball."
Hanwha found the possibility last year. Although Hanwha replaced its coach during the season due to poor performance, it has found hope for this season under the leadership of "master general" Kim Kyung-moon who took the helm in June.
Ryu did his part with a double-digit win, and Moon Dong-ju, the rookie of the year who had been sluggish, also pitched impressively in the second half. Ryan Weiss, who joined as a substitute, re-signed and brought in new foreign pitcher Cody Ponce from the big leagues and outfielder Esteban Floral.
He also actively engaged in the free agent market. In line with Kim Kyung-moon's intention to strengthen the center line, he invested up to 7.8 billion won (6.37 million U.S. dollars) in pitcher Um Sang-baek for four years and up to 5 billion won (4.69 million dollars) in shortstop Shim Woo-joon for four years.
The starting lineup is among the strongest in the league. Ryu Hyun-jin and Moon Dong-joo, two foreign pitchers, and Um Sang-baek were added to complete the rotation. Starting with Kim Seo-hyun and Joo Hyun-sang, Park Sang-won and Han Seung-hyuk, as well as Jung Woo-joo, the second-ranked rookie overall, have solidified their bullpen.
The team's batting lineup is also not easy. Despite its sluggish performance last year, Noh Si-hwan, who won two titles in 2023, and Hwang Young-mook and Kim Tae-yeon also jumped to the starting lineup last year along with veterans Ahn Chi-hong and Chae Eun-seong. Players who are expected to perform more well this season are also lined up.
Last year, Hanwha said "rebuilding is over" with the recruitment of Ryu Hyun-jin, but there were still some shortcomings. As Hanwha originally planned to use this opportunity to take off by making inroads into the fall baseball leagues in line with the era of new stadiums, it is preparing for the new season with the determination to leap to the top ranks this season.
Hanwha's changed baseball is expected to be confirmed from the exhibition game that opens on the 8th. The opening ceremony of the new stadium will be held on the 5th of next month, and the team will be able to see the players playing at the new stadium in two consecutive home games against the Doosan Bears on the 17th and 18th.
Hanwha is starting to improve its completeness to show Hanwha's changed baseball in its new home turf. After returning from Melbourne, Australia on the 19th, he immediately boarded a flight to Okinawa, Japan, and will prepare for the new season by making up for his shortcomings through practice games with KBO teams.