"Peak hasn't come yet." Career-high '30 home runs' in first year after transfer, Hanwha's Kang Baek-ho's big-picture vision: "Even 10 billion won is cheap"

*This content was translated by AI.

"I don't think my peak has come yet."

Kang Baek-ho (27), who joined the Hanwha Eagles as a free agent on a four-year, 10 billion won contract, hit his career-first single-season 30 home runs in his first season. Nevertheless, Kang said this is just the beginning.

On the 8th, Kang Baek-ho started at the designated hitter spot No. 4 in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game against the Doosan Bears held at Daejeon Hanwha Life Park and hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning.

The explosive home run barrage that led to a 6-1 victory and a four-game winning streak was Kang Baek-ho's 30th home run of the season. Although he wore the KT Wiz uniform after being selected as the second overall pick in the second round of the 2018 rookie draft, hitting 29 home runs in his first season to win Rookie of the Year, this was his first time ever recording 30 home runs.

Kang Baek-ho, who grounded out to the second baseman on an outside slider in his first at-bat, hit a powerful swing against a 132 km/h slider from the same location with two outs and bases loaded in the bottom of the third inning while the team was leading 2-0, sending the ball over the center field wall. The batted ball speed reached an impressive 170 km/h, resulting in a massive home run traveling 130 meters.

With 30 home runs, he recorded 103 RBIs, surpassing his career high of 102 RBIs set in 2021. This is also his first time achieving both 30 home runs and 100 RBIs simultaneously.

Despite the limitations of playing only as a designated hitter and shouldering heavy responsibility at the plate, Kang Baek-ho has been performing brilliantly in 108 games with a batting average of .289 (422 at-bats, 122 hits), 30 home runs, 103 RBIs, 66 runs scored, an on-base percentage of .357, a slugging percentage of .552, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .909. His batting average with runners in scoring position is as high as .371.

After the game, Kang Baek-ho said, "I'm happy. I wanted to do this at least once. I'm glad I was able to show a good performance in my first year after transferring." However, he added, "But I feel like it might have been a bit late. My pace could have been better, and I wish I had done it at a better timing. Personally, it's great, but for the team, it's disappointing."

This is the heavy responsibility of a high-value free agent. Although Kang Baek-ho hit .313 with 23 home runs and 85 RBIs in 78 games during the first half of the season, he was somewhat sluggish in the second half, hitting .230 with 7 home runs and 18 RBIs in 30 games. There was significant regret over this part. He feels he cannot help but think about the team first.

Kang Baek-ho said, "Actually, it's great. It's a good season for me, but I have significant regrets regarding my goals." He continued, "Even during the nine-game losing streak, there were situations where we could have broken the streak. If I had hit home runs a bit earlier in those situations, we would likely be in a better position fighting for the standings now. That is the biggest regret. It's too heartbreaking, and after getting injured, I think my mind became too anxious."

This means that if he had maintained his first-half pace, he could have been more satisfied not only with his personal records but also with the team's performance. The balance has still not reached the level of the first half. Kang Baek-ho said, "(The balance) is hard to say it's extremely good; I'm still trying to grasp it." He added, "After getting injured, I tried to do things, and it broke down. I've been starting over completely from the beginning. I think I'm finally starting to get a grip on it now. I talked a lot with the batting coach and received a lot of help from the power analysis team, and I really worked hard to fix that, but I feel like the timing was a bit late, which is regrettable."

Surprisingly, Kang Baek-ho said he didn't think much about hitting 30 home runs throughout his career, but as a new player, his mindset was different. "I haven't really set a goal to hit 30 home runs in almost any year of my career. I am a player who wants to hit for a high batting average, and I even wondered, 'Can I really hit 30?'" However, he explained, "But when I came over this year, with my personal mindset, I thought I should show it at least once. With a fresh start, I wanted to prepare well from the beginning again and show fans a good performance, and I truly wanted to be of great help to the Hanwha Eagles."

Therefore, he expressed regret once again. "I did this not for personal greed but really for the team, and my pace was good in the early part of the season, so the number of home runs increased," he said. "The first half was too good, but after that, it was very disappointing. If it's a successful season, it is a season, but there are many regrets. It's both good and regrettable."

He now feels this is just the beginning. "I don't know when I'll hit 30 again, but for the remaining three years of my contract, I want to challenge my career high every year," he said. "Whether it's 30 home runs, batting average, or RBIs, I'm not sure if this is what a free agent should say, but I want to become a growing player. I don't think my peak has come yet." He added with confidence, "If players like Noh Si-hwan and Moon Hyun-bin reach their prime at similar ages with such good performances, I think we can definitely become a strong team."

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*This content was translated by AI.