I lost the third baseman in FA… It is fortunate that Yang Eui-ji’s plan B and C were obtained at once.
It is unreasonable to say that NC had a successful 2022-2023 offseason. It seems that the loss of Yang Eui-ji (Doosan) and Roh Jin-hyeok (Lotte) is big. Still, it is fortunate out of misfortune that Yang Eui-ji recruited Plan B and C. In the free agent market, Park Se-hyeok was recruited for 4 years and 4.6 billion won, and another catcher Ahn Joong-yeol was recruited as a compensation player for Noh Jin-hyuk.
It is impossible to completely fill the void of Yang Eui-ji. Not just this season, but even after that. Yang Eui-ji’s hitting production is basic, and no domestic catcher has the ability to read and deal with the unique game flow when wearing a catcher’s mask. There were many residual injuries, and the only risk was that durability was not guaranteed.
In the end, as NC, Yang Eui-ji’s share must be filled by Park Se-hyeok, Ahn Joong-yeol, and existing backup Park Dae-on. Still, the lacking parts have to be embraced by other hitters. What is clear is that it is unreasonable to erase Yang Eui-ji’s shadow alone just because Park Se-hyuk plays as the NC’s main catcher. 카지노
Of course, Ahn Joong-yeol has a role to play. Ahn Joong-yeol moved to Lotte immediately after being nominated by KT in 2014. He has a batting average of 0.218, 12 homers, 57 RBIs and an OPS of 0.625 in 323 games so far this season. Basically, the slow development of the strike is the biggest concern.
His defensive ability has been evaluated as good since his days at Busan High School. However, in the case of the 2022 season, it was difficult to find the name in various top charts based on the baseball statistics site Statties. Rather, Park Dae-on was ranked in the middle ranks in WAA and PASS/9. Ahn Joong-yeol was fine with a stealing rate of 42.9%, WAA 0.344, and PASS/9 0.716 in the 2021 season.
Ahn Joong-yeol is expected to have room to endure the competition with Park Dae-on only when he shows competitiveness at least in defense. A lot of effort in hitting goes without saying. Director Kang In-kwon, who is famous as a ‘catcher trainer’ in the industry, took the baton. Of course, since there is Kim Jong-min battery coach in the first team, it is unlikely that Ahn Jung-yeol will directly receive guidance from coach Kang. However, it seems likely that there will be many situations in which director Kang will focus more on the catchers.
What is past is past. NC has to shake off the pain of losing both will. Park Se-hyeok, Ahn Joong-yeol, and Park Dae-on should work hard and help each other to pursue development. There is no law that says a team with a weak catcher cannot win the Korean Series. A new board was made again in the NC homeroom. From a larger perspective, Eui-ji Yang’s transfer to Doosan could be a small motivation for promising catchers.