"I became a trainee two years ago," he recalled 7.8 billion big guns' "worst year" and 34 home runs in the Blue and White games

*This content was translated by AI.

The value of 7.8 billion won did not last long. He hit 34 home runs, but had his worst year since then. Yang Seok-hwan (35, Doosan Bears), who lost his pride, hit a shot that predicted a revival.

Yang Seok-hwan started as the third batter and first baseman of the blue team in the 2026 Doosan's first spring camp at Blacktown Stadium in Sydney, Australia, on the 16th (Korea time) and hit a two-run home run in the top of the first inning.

Yang Seok-hwan, who joined the LG Twins in 2014 and became a completely different player after wearing Doosan's uniform in a trade in 2021, also served as Doosan's captain and grew his position within the team.

After the 2023 season, he became a free agent (FA) and signed a large contract of up to 7.8 billion won for 4+2 years and remained.

The following year, he had his best year with 34 home runs and 107 RBIs, but last year was the problem. He played only 72 games, hitting 0.248 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs, and OPS (on-base plus slugging) was 0.721, which had nothing to put forward. After Lee Seung-yeop stepped down, acting coach Cho Sung-hwan took the helm, but rather, he spent more time in the second division. He was injured and did not even have a chance to rebound.

Even if there is something that has been proven by his career as a high-paying salary, he cannot let his guard down. Rookie Park Joon-soon hit fast last year, and even shortstop Park Chan-ho was brought in in this stove league. Yang Seok-hwan is in charge of first base, but if there is a series of transfers in the infield, he cannot but be optimistic about the main player at first base.

In fact, Kang Seung-ho and Kim Min-seok filled the vacancy while Yang Seok-hwan did not get a chance last year. Competition for first base could become fiercer as new head coach Kim Won-hyung expresses his intention to use Park Joon-soon as a second baseman.

Earlier, head coach Kim Won-hyung said of the fiercer infield competition, "I don't think there is a problem in going into the real game if you go to the spring camp and do it properly and show yourself through exhibition games."

Yang Seok-hwan was also desperate and boarded a flight to Australia. Then, he hit a home run against Choi Seung-yong, the starting pitcher of the white team, and left a strong impression on manager Kim Won-hyung. The game was played in seven innings, with a total of 10 hits coming from both teams, but the score was only due to Yang Seok-hwan's home run.

Choi Seung-yong also pitched two innings and struck out three, but allowed two runs with a home run hit by Yang Seok-hwan after sending out a runner due to a defensive error.

Yang Seok-hwan, who was considered a Su-hoon player, explained about the home run situation in the first inning, "I focused on aggressively playing in an advantageous count, and I got a good result."

"Two years ago, I was selected as a trainee during the Sydney camp Cheongbaek match, but I want to continue my good energy," he said. "I will deliver the prize money to new players who are doing well during this camp."

Choi Min-seok (20), the starting member of the blue team, was selected as the best player along with Yang Seok-hwan. In two innings, he pitched two hits, one strikeout, and no outs with up to 148km of fastballs.

Choi Min-seok said, "I focused on continuing my good condition during live pitching. Rather than trying hard or paying attention to the restraint, he focused more on targeting the strike zone and checking the batter's reaction, as the coach emphasized, he said. "It's my first time receiving a reward for a player, so I'll eat something delicious and cheer up."

Yang Jae-hoon (23), who took the mound after Choi Min-seok, threw 43 pitches in two innings and struck out five. He also recorded three walks, but succeeded in appealing to manager Kim Won-hyung with a strong impact.

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*This content was translated by AI.