'Again...' Park Chan-ho even offered advice on An Jae-seok's careless play → Why did he fail to touch the nearby third base and instead make a bad throw to second base? [Jamsil on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

It was an incredibly heartbreaking moment for Doosan Bears. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the momentum shifted entirely due to a momentary judgment error by Doosan infielder An Jae-seok (24).

On the 17th, Doosan lost 1-8 to KT Wiz in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game held at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

With this loss, Doosan fell into a two-game losing streak. With a record of 33 wins, 2 draws, and 33 losses, their winning percentage dropped back to .500. Additionally, the losing streak ended their consecutive winning series at five games. The team maintained its fifth-place standing in the league.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, when Doosan fell behind 1-2 after leading 1-1, KT slugger Ahn Hyun-min stepped up to the plate with one out and runners on first and second. The first pitch was a strike. On the second pitch, he hit a ball off Doosan starter Takada, which headed toward the third baseman.

At that moment, perhaps Doosan third baseman An Jae-seok felt he had no time. He calculated the bounce well and fielded the ball properly. However, what happened next was somewhat disappointing.

Instead of stepping directly on the nearby third base, he immediately threw the ball toward second base. Had he stepped on third base directly and then thrown to first, there was enough time to potentially record a double play. Moreover, the batter was Ahn Hyun-min, who had recently returned from a hamstring injury. He would inevitably be slow running to first.

But perhaps An Jae-seok had not anticipated such a situation. He rushed to throw to second base without even looking at third base, and to make matters worse, the throw was errant. Teammate and second baseman Lee Yu-chan barely managed to field the ball, preventing runner Choi Won-jun from scoring from third base at that moment.

As a result, Doosan effectively lost all momentum at that point. Starter Takada gave up a straight walk to subsequent batter Hilliard and was then pulled after allowing a two-run single to Kim Min-hyuk. Relief pitcher Park Chi-kook then surrendered consecutive sacrifice flies to Heo Kyung-min and Oh Yun-seok, followed by two consecutive walks and a bases-loaded walk, and the score quickly ballooned to 1-7.

Before the game, Doosan manager Kim Won-hyung, the team's skipper, spoke about An Jae-seok: "Regardless, he is a player who must unleash his batting abilities, so he needs to play frequently. Yesterday, I briefly spoke with him, telling him that in critical moments, he might strike out or hit into a double play. That would surely make him feel sorry and burdened. But more importantly, he needs to forget it quickly and focus on defense in the next inning."

He continued, "If the memory of that at-bat lingers and he keeps thinking about it, he might make mistakes in defense. I told him, 'Look, (Jung) Soobin, (Jo) Su-haeng, and (Park) Chan-ho are right beside you. The players here made it this far because they were good at defense since they were young.' I told him that if he keeps that mindset, he will be able to perform well."

Ultimately, Manager Kim emphasized defense, again and again. He said, "Personally, I can wait for him to get a few at-bats. However, problems in defense are different. The message I gave him about going to the minor league was to prioritize defense even more. Of course, he wants to be a starter and showcase his batting skills, but if his defense is lacking, it becomes a burden for me as a manager. So I told him to focus more on defense even if his batting isn't going well."

An Jae-seok had also displayed careless defense in the Kiwoom Heroes game at Jamsil on the 5th. In the top of the first inning with two outs and a runner on first, he threw the ball toward second base on a ground ball hit by Lee Hyung-jong, intending to get the lead runner, but his throw was loose, and he failed to get the runner at first. Coincidentally, the batter-runner Lee Hyung-jong did not sprint either, and second baseman Oh Myung-jin quickly threw the ball to first, but the disaster could not be averted. There was no punitive substitution, but after the inning ended, Park Chan-ho approached An Jae-seok and offered some advice.

At the time, Manager Kim stated, "He thought throwing to second base was safer with two outs, but from an outside perspective, it looked like a loose throw. I didn't specifically address that part. I noticed (Park) Chan-ho was talking to him."

Ultimately, An Jae-seok must overcome this himself. As the skipper advised, he must now devote his full energy to defense rather than batting. Will An Jae-seok be able to show a complete transformation in his defense?

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*This content was translated by AI.