'90-degree bow' met with jeers, Kim Jae-hwan: "It's been a long time" — First visit to former team after transfer... Hit a 'signal of rebound' by piercing the shift [Jamsil on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Even when fielded with a good defensive play, even when he struck out, the response was consistently jeers. Kim Jae-hwan (38, SSG Landers), who played as a Bear for 18 years before transferring, was not a player of the cheering team. It was his first visit to his former team, yet he had to face a cold reaction. Nevertheless, Kim Jae-hwan remained calm and instead delivered a performance that washed away his recent slump.

On the 8th, Kim Jae-hwan started as the designated hitter in the fourth spot in the visiting game against the Doosan Bears held at Jamsil Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, recording 2 hits and 1 run in 5 at-bats.

After suffering a severe batting slump and visiting the minor league, Kim Jae-hwan recorded back-to-back hits in two games and achieved his third multi-hit performance of the season.

Kim Jae-hwan began his professional career with Doosan in the second round of the 2008 draft. He was a Bear franchise star who played 15 seasons over 18 years, including a long period of obscurity, exclusively with Doosan. Even while using Jamsil as his home stadium, he won the home run championship and was also awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP). Ahead of the 2022 season, he remained with Doosan as a free agent (FA) on a four-year contract worth up to 11.5 billion won.

After finishing last season, Kim Jae-hwan entered into priority negotiations with Doosan as per regulations. However, no agreement was reached, and he became a complete free agent as stipulated in the original contract. Public opinion was heated with criticism that he had exploited the regulations to move to another team without any compensation conditions.

Kim Jae-hwan eventually signed a two-year contract worth up to 2.2 billion won with SSG, and Doosan had to let go of its franchise star with a bitter heart.

Kim Jae-hwan was well aware of the public opinion regarding this matter. Immediately after the contract, he stated on his social networking service (SNS), "I am well aware that there were many voices of criticism and disappointment regarding my choice." He added, "I will never take lightly all the words and scolding sent by the fans. I sincerely apologize for hurting your hearts with my performance and choice that fell short of expectations." He expressed his apology, but afterwards, he refrained from speaking about it further.

Unlike the expectation that he would add weight to the lineup, Kim Jae-hwan suffered a severe slump at the beginning of this season and even visited the minor league. Returning in a game against the NC Dinos on the 7th with a clutch hit, Kim Jae-hwan returned to the fourth spot in the batting order today. It was the first time in his career that he played against Doosan at Jamsil Stadium.

Coincidentally, Doosan achieved 10 consecutive home game losses on this day. This tied the record for the most consecutive losses at Jamsil Stadium, and amidst such intense interest, he started his first game against his former team.

In the three-game series against Doosan played in Incheon, he managed only 10 at-bats with no hits, but perhaps because it was the most familiar stadium, today was different. In the bottom of the second inning, leading off, Kim Jae-hwan took his stance at the plate, removed his helmet, and bowed more than 90 degrees toward the home stands on the first-base side to greet the fans.

However, the reaction from the fans of his former team was cold. Kim Jae-hwan hit Wes Benjamin's first pitch for a single to left field, but jeers erupted from the Doosan cheering section.

Even after being retired by a ground ball to the first baseman in the third inning, even after recording a multi-hit performance in the fifth inning, and even after striking out in the sixth inning and hitting into a double play in the ninth, the reaction remained the same. If anything, the jeers grew louder as the game progressed.

Kim Jae-hwan, who led his team to a 4-1 victory, met with reporters after the game. Knowing the reason for the jeers better than anyone, Kim Jae-hwan was calm. As he had prepared as usual, he said, "Since this was my first game at Doosan Bears' home, I only thought I should focus on today's game besides greeting them." He added, "It had been a long time since we met, so I wasn't nervous."

His batting average, which rose with today's multi-hit performance, was only 0.132 (12 hits in 91 at-bats). This is the reason manager Lee Seung-yong had no choice but to send him to the minor league.

Manager Lee Seung-yong stated that there were no technical issues. There were quite a few well-hit balls that went straight at fielders, and opposing pitchers frequently engaged in difficult at-bats against him. The fact that he drew the third-most walks on the team despite missing 10 games is evidence of this.

Kim Jae-hwan nodded in agreement. "I also felt that tendency. I tried not to worry too much, but as that period lengthened, I think I became somewhat inhibited without realizing it, and my confidence also dropped," he explained. "As a result, I tried to hit the ball a bit more accurately, and as a result, there were parts where my timing was late."

The thought that he must be a help to the new team inadvertently led to a sense of burden. "I thought there was nothing wrong with my head, but I think my heart felt differently. Without realizing it, I felt a bit of pressure and wanted to hit better balls to make a better impression on SSG fans," he confessed.

As the slump continued, it became difficult to maintain composure, and eventually, after witnessing his swing collapse, manager Lee Seung-yong instructed Kim Jae-hwan to go to the minor league to get some time to fix his mechanics.

That ten-day period was a great help. Kim Jae-hwan said, "I'm glad that practicing with coach Lee Myeong-gi in the minor league is starting to show. I think my confidence is also growing." He added, "I focused on swinging more actively, getting my timing earlier, and hitting without being late. It doesn't seem to be 100% yet, but I think it's encouraging that what I practiced is coming out."

He also said, "I thought a lot after going to the minor league and practiced with a good balance. As the practice is coming out, I look forward to the future."

In his return game, he scored a run with a softly hit ball, and today he hit two hits that broke his unique shift, splitting the gap between second and shortstop. Because he had been watching too much before, he had accumulated many strikeouts (28), more than walks. Now, he decided to be more bold.

"If the ball comes into the strike zone, I thought I should just swing without thinking. I thought simply, and I think I got lucky. Although it was a hit to the corner, the fact that such a hit came out became an opportunity for me to gain some confidence," he said, hoping that today's result would be a signal of his rebound.

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*This content was translated by AI.