‘Kim Eung-yong → Kim Sung-geun → Kim Kyung-moon’: Why Hanwha, the graveyard of 1,000-win managers, can now say ‘This time is different’

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Only three managers in domestic history have reached 1,000 wins, and all of them passed through the Hanwha Eagles, yet each ended on a sad note.

Hanwha announced on the 10th that “Manager Kim Kyung-moon (68) will leave the team due to contract expiration,” during its home game against the NC Dinos at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

Out of his 14 seasons, which included stints with the Doosan Bears and NC Dinos, he failed to reach the postseason in only two of the 12th seasons excluding those where he resigned mid-season. He was a master strategist, earning the nickname “the postseason executioner.” After accumulating 896 wins, he took over the Hanwha helm in June 2024.

His only flaw was the lack of championship experience. This remained unaddressed at Hanwha as well. Last year, he led the team to the Korea Series for the first time in 19 years, but due to somewhat disappointing game management and an inability to overcome the limitations of a lower-tier team, they had to settle for second place.

This season, the team fell back to ninth place, and he ultimately had to part ways upon contract expiration. However, the atmosphere is distinctly different from when previous 1,000-win predecessors departed.

Hanwha, which remained a perennial last-place team despite boasting Ryu Hyun-jin, a pillar of Korean baseball, faced an even greater crisis after he left for Major League Baseball. It was at this time that Hanwha appointed Manager Kim Eung-yong (86).

He was one of the greatest managers in Korean baseball history, having recorded 10 championships, and there were high expectations that Hanwha would become a team capable of dreaming about the postseason.

However, unlike when he previously managed the KIA Tigers and Samsung Lions, the player pool was too thin. They finished ninth in 2013, and despite signing Lee Yong-gyu and Jung Geun-woo as free agents (FA), they remained in ninth place for two consecutive years in 2014, forcing him to step down.

In 2015, another 1,000-win manager, Kim Sung-geun (85), was appointed. Manager Kim placed the team in sixth place in his first season, their highest ranking since 2008 (fifth).

However, controversies over player overuse persisted the following year, and they dropped to seventh place, failing to advance to the postseason. In 2017, they fell as low as ninth place, leading to his dismissal early in the season.

In 2018, they achieved the feat of reaching the postseason for the first time in 11 years, but it was a “flash in the pan.” It took another seven years before they reached the postseason again.

Nevertheless, the atmosphere this time is different from when past master managers met bitter endings. Unlike the past, when performance improvements were expected by relying on a few FA signings, the team has achieved definitive structural improvement.

Hanwha, through managers such as Carlos Suevero and Choi Won-ho, has developed reliable resources to shoulder the team’s future. This year, starting with Moon Dong-ju, who is out due to surgery, along with national team members Noh Si-hwan and Moon Hyun-bin, catcher Heo In-seo, who is virtually certain to win this season’s Rookie of the Year award, and Jo Dong-wook, who has established himself as a key bullpen card, are now indispensable resources for the team.

There are also players like Kim Seo-hyun and Jung Woo-ju, who struggled this season, and Oh Jae-won and Han Ji-yoon, who are even more anticipated next year. Furthermore, it is a great strength that Kang Baek-ho and Chae Eun-seong remain solid, as does Ryu Hyun-jin on the mound.

Last year, they secured 33 wins led by the foreign pitcher duo of Cody Ponce (17 wins) and Ryan Weiss (16 wins), but this season, four foreign pitchers combined for only 12 wins. This can be interpreted to mean that the team has the potential to return to the postseason simply by selecting good foreign players.

Therefore, expectations for the next manager are even higher. One of the figures currently in contention is Ryu Ji-hyun (55), the national team manager.

Since taking over as LG Twins manager in 2021, he finished fourth, followed by second place in the regular league and third overall the following year, demonstrating his ability to manage the pennant race. As the baseball national team manager, he led Korea to the second round of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time in 17 years and won a gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Having proven his capabilities in both long-term races and short tournaments, and with his strength cited as managing without overexertion, he is one of the candidates who raises even more expectations among Hanwha fans.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original