'1:1 Trade' Kia's Ha Ju-seok 'First Visit to Former Team Greeting': Manager Lee Beom-ho Says, "Ah, there shouldn't be a runner on base..." Why Start in This Situation? [Daejeon Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

KIA Tigers announced their starting lineup ahead of their three-game road series against Hanwha Eagles. Ha Ju-seok (32), who joined KIA from Hanwha midway through this season, will start the game and greet fans of his former team.

KIA will face Hanwha in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season road game at Daejeon Hanwha Life Bulls Park on the afternoon of the 18th at 7 p.m.

KIA has recorded 56 wins, 48 losses, and 2 draws this season, ranking fourth alone in the league. KIA is chasing third-place LG Twins by a margin of 1.5 games. Having recently acquired new closer Lee Ui-ri, KIA is on a two-game winning streak.

In response, Hanwha has been struggling with three consecutive losses. Hanwha holds 48 wins, 53 losses, and 3 draws, sitting alone in sixth place in the league. The gap to fifth-place Doosan Bears, who hold playoff qualification rights, has now widened to six games. A victory is essential for a turnaround.

For today's game, KIA set its starting lineup as follows: Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Kim Sun-bin (designated hitter), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Castro (first baseman), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder), Ha Ju-seok (shortstop), Kim Tae-gun (catcher), and Yoon Do-hyun (second baseman). The starting pitcher is James Neal.

Ha Ju-seok's start stands out. About a month ago, on the 23rd of last month, Ha joined KIA via trade, leaving Hanwha to wear the Kia uniform. At that time, KIA executed a 1:1 trade with Hanwha, sending pitcher Lee Hyung-beom to Hanwha, which changed Ha's fate.

Before today's game, KIA manager Lee Beom-ho commented on Ha Ju-seok's performance and start: "He has been playing well since coming via trade. He spent a long time playing for Hanwha. If you change teams, it is part of being a professional player to come here and greet the fans and show that you are doing well."

He continued, "There will surely be even more motivation to perform better when moving from a familiar place to a new one. As long as he shows his abilities, I don't think there will be any major issues," expressing his trust.

The manager then joked, "When you step up to the plate during the game, it might get a bit emotional," adding, "Ah, but there shouldn't be runners on base in that situation... and then it gets emotional again," drawing laughter from those around him. Manager Lee was concerned that Ha might become too emotional and fail to hit properly.

Ha Ju-seok graduated from Gangnam Elementary School, Deoksung Middle School, and Sinil High School. He was drafted first overall in the first round of the 2012 KBO Rookie Draft by Hanwha Eagles. Until this season, he had been a one-club player for Hanwha for an impressive 15 seasons. Once even serving as team captain, Ha's departure from Hanwha via trade surprised many. At the time of his acquisition, a KIA official explained the trade: "Ha Ju-seok is a versatile resource who can play multiple infield positions including second base and shortstop. With rich first-team experience, we expect him to contribute significantly to our team's strength, which is why we pursued this trade."

This season, Ha Ju-seok has appeared in 39 games with a batting average of .284 (33 hits in 116 at-bats), one home run, 13 RBIs, 11 runs scored, five doubles, eight walks, three hit-by-pitches, 32 strikeouts, an on-base percentage of .344, a slugging percentage of .353, an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .697, a batting average with runners in scoring position of .297, and a pinch-hit batting average of .500.

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*This content was translated by AI.