"My father collapsed in May"…The captain of "The Reversal of Battle" roared with sadness and anger
"My father collapsed in May"…The captain of "The Reversal of Battle" roared with sadness and anger
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"Actually, my father collapsed in May and is still in the hospital, but because of that, I didn't feel like it."
Yang Seok-hwan (33), the captain of the Doosan Bears, was having a difficult season in many ways this year. There was also a lot of pressure to lead the team as a center hitter and captain, but his father was hospitalized in May due to poor health, shaking his balance. It was not as easy as he thought even if he vowed not to show off in the locker room and on the ground like a professional. Yang Seok-hwan's face became darker and darker as his batting pace dropped.
Looking back on the first half of the season, Yang said calmly, "Personally, there were some bad things, and it was tough starting the season with bad performance. Baseball players have to speak on the ground. I think I lacked the skills I had. But my teammates, coaches and coaches helped me a lot. I think the team did a good job."
Then, I brought up my father's story. Yang Seok-hwan honestly said, "Actually, my father collapsed in May and is still in the hospital. Because of that, I didn't feel any better. That's why it was even harder. At some point, I thought it was stressful for me to pretend to be bright. That's why it was honestly a little dark at the ballpark for a while. I think it was a really unprofessional behavior, and in that regard, I feel sorry for the coach and the team members." 안전놀이터
After finishing last season, Yang Seok-hwan became the first FA in his career and signed a four-plus-year contract with Doosan for a total of 7.8 billion won, knowing that he would only walk the flowery path this year. Yang Seok-hwan sweated throughout the year, making no secret of his natural and honest greed as a player that he would be re-evaluated in the market four years later. He also wanted to do better as a leader of the team as he was the captain four years after he was traded from the LG Twins to Doosan in 2020.
His home run pace was Yang Seok-hwan. He hit 19 in the first half alone, ranking first in his team and sixth in the league. He had 63 RBIs, ranking second in his team. However, as his batting average fell to 0.252 (79 hits in 314 times at bat), he bowed his head more often at bat.
In the game against the Lotte Giants on Sunday, Yang displayed his anger. Starting as the sixth batter and first baseman, he made four hits (one homer) and five RBIs in five times at bat, leading the team to a come-from-behind victory of 13-8.
In the bottom of the second inning, trailing 0-6, Yang Seok-hwan announced Doosan's counterattack. Two outs later, Yang Seok-hwan hit a left-field double and Kang Seung-ho hit a timely hit to the left, starting to chase 1-6.
He hit a come-from-behind grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning, trailing 3-6. With the bases loaded with no outs, Kim Jae-hwan struck out swinging, and Yang Seok-hwan had the task of the troubleshooter. Yang Seok-hwan hit a grand slam to Lotte pitcher Kim Sang-soo to turn it over 7-6. With a ball count of 2-2, he hit a fastball of 147 kilometers per hour high on Kim Sang-soo's body to connect with his 19th homer of the season. It was his seventh grand slam in his career.
Yang Seok-hwan explained, "It was my turn with the bases loaded with no outs and the bases loaded with one out, and in fact, such at-bats are one of the most burdensome for batters. So I tried to focus on contact a little more, but I think I got a lot of luck as the ball came into my favorite course."
After hitting the grand slam, Yang Seok-hwan roared while watching the dugout much bigger than usual. "It's true that it's been a little stagnant, and I think I did the action on purpose because I thought I brought a little bit of atmosphere today (the 3rd)."
In the bottom of the seventh inning when the score was 7-7, Yang gave an 8-7 lead by hitting a timely hit to the right, with no outs and a full base opportunity. It was the moment when he almost hit the finishing hit by fire in the bullpen. Doosan was able to win 13-8 thanks to Yang Eui-ji's wedge grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning with a 9-8 lead. Yang and Yang were the first players in the KBO league to hit two grand slams in a game in Jamsil.
Yang said, "The first record always feels good. It's all the more meaningful because it came out on a really important day for the team. I feel great to be able to leave a name with (Yang)."
Based on his performance on the day, Yang said, "I hope I can continue the good trend through the second half of this season. I will put down a little bit of pressure that I felt at first as captain and do my best as much as I can."
Yang Seok-hwan said, "Looking back, I was paying a lot of attention to the things I couldn't do (just because I was the captain). For example, there are many things besides the results from the ground, and I couldn't look away even though I knew it was something I couldn't do. I thought I shouldn't turn away as a captain, and as a result, I fell in love with myself and it was a little hard."
He added, "It's outside my area, but when I first made a claim, I was putting my energy into it. Now I'm changing my mind because I don't think I should do this. I think it would have been difficult if it wasn't for me, but I think I felt more responsible because I was a captain."
He said he would finish the first half well and come back as Yang Seok-hwan, who has led the dugout atmosphere for the past three years in the second half. "In the second half, I think the atmosphere fight is more important, and the ranking fight is also important, so I think I need to take a lot of action and cheer up the players."
"I thought we should finish the first half with only a quarter. I think finishing the first half well can be a positive signal in the second half. I would like to say thank you to batting coach Lee Young-soo for helping me a lot recently. Personally, I haven't interviewed him a lot this season, but whenever I did, I said a lot, "I still have a lot of games left. I'll do well in the remaining games." That's why the first half ended. Rather than saying that, I'm going to do my best in the second half of the year in terms of what I can do."