"How strong are you going to be in Hanwha?" A 5 billion man at the bottom, Shim Woo-joon's confidence, "I can go higher." [the site of a war]

*This content was translated by AI.

Despite the blistering trend, "The Greatest Hanwha" rang out at Hanwha Life Ball Park in the bottom of the eighth inning. Then, like a miracle, a three-run home run that tied the score came out. Shim Woo-joon (31), who was a big disappointment to fans last year, fired a signal of rebound.

Shim Woo-joon led his team's 10-9 victory in the 11th inning with two hits, one walk, one strikeout, three RBIs and three runs scored in the bottom of the eighth inning at the home game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League against the Kiwoom Heroes at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 28th.

It was an opening game that was even more meaningful because Shim Woo-joon, who was selected as a defensive and fast shortstop and spent the worst time last year after transferring to Hanwha for up to 5 billion won for four years ahead of last season.

Shim Woo-joon, who was expected to be a player who would add stability to the team through outstanding defense and fast feet, had a career low season with a batting average of 0.231 in 94 games last year, even though his career batting average remained in the mid-20s.

Rather, Ha Joo-seok, who remained at 110 million won as an internal free agent (FA), performed much better, leaving only debt in his mind.

I was able to start by shaking off last year's nightmare, which was just twisted. Shim Woo-joon, who started as the ninth batter shortstop in the opening game, struck out in the third inning and lowered his head with a pitcher ground ball in the fifth inning, but he got on base with a walk in the bottom of the seventh inning when his team was dragged 3-5 to score a chase.

The eighth inning was crucial. Shim Woo-joon, who appeared at the batter's box with two outs and runners on the first and second bases, hit Bae Dong-hyun's 145km/h fastball. It was a hit that you could feel the home run at the moment you were hit, but the direction was a problem. Fans who watched the ball with bated breath roared after checking the ball falling off the left pole. So did Shim Woo-joon.

In the 11th inning, he gave up two runs earlier and started nervously, but he appeared as the first batter and opened the turning point with a hit to the middle, and dug home when Moon Hyun-bin's double to the left-center. Since then, Hanwha has won a dramatic victory with Roh Si-hwan's equalizer and Kang Baek-ho's walk-off hit, which had previously been silent with no hits in 10 at-bats.

Shim Woo-joon said, "To be honest, it was a very difficult game today. "If I had lost, I felt while defending that the team's atmosphere would have dropped a little bit for the time being," he said. "Fortunately, I won and thought, 'This year (the team) will work out well, I can go higher.'"

He is not a batter with many home runs, but he hit a home run from the opening game following the exhibition game. I didn't particularly care about anything for a long shot. Shim Woo-joon said, "Nothing has changed much. "Last year, my batting form has not changed much," he said. "Last year, I tried not to strike out with my hands on the outside ball a lot, so the bat went out even with the strange ball, but now I think I set the zone two strikes before and turned my swing hard, so the batting quality has improved and I think I'm getting a lot of long balls."

I was sure of a home run. Shim Woo-joon, who said, "I thought it was a foul at first, but I thought I would go inside in the middle, so I cheered while watching him float away." I felt good after a long time.I thought, "It's opened." I feel so good because I hit my first home run."

Kang Baek-ho and Noh Si-hwan, who had to hold their breath until the end of the game, also became benefactors. Shim Woo-joon said, "I talked to Si-hwan and Baek-ho. After hitting the home run, he said, "I made him finish it, so you two should hit it." He said with a happy smile, "When Si-hwan came to the batter's box at the bottom of the ninth inning and said that, it was really over."

Last year, the team was able to head to the Korean Series for the first time in 19 years, except for Cody Ponce (Toronto Blue Jays) and Ryan Weiss (Houston Astros), who advanced to the Major League. As a result, there were many concerns that they would not achieve that kind of performance this season. However, through the exhibition games and the opening game, better aspects are being found one by one than last year. Shim Woo-joon's rebound is also a factor that makes Hanwha look forward to this season.

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*This content was translated by AI.