I'm looking forward to a match with "Korean Monster," "Bears 4th"

Kim Jae-hwan, who ended the Doosan Bears' losing streak with a dramatic three-point arch, was looking forward to a showdown with Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha Eagles).

The Doosan Bears, led by manager Lee Seung-yeop, beat Choi Won-ho's Hanwha Eagles 5-3 at a regular season home game of the 2024 professional baseball league held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Tuesday. Doosan, which ended its two-game losing streak, has posted six wins and nine losses.

Kim Jae-hwan, who was named in the starting lineup as the fourth designated hitter, was a brilliant game. He took the lead in Doosan's victory by scoring one hit, one home run and three RBIs in four times at bat.

His early days were not good. He turned to second baseman, double play, strikeout, and groundout to first base, respectively, in the bottom of the first, third, and fifth innings.

However, the bat of the fourth batter turned fiercely when the team needed it the most. At the bottom of the seventh inning when Doosan was losing 2-3 with runners on the first and third bases with one out, Kim Jae-hwan hit a 148-km fastball by the opponent team's left-handed bullpen pitcher Kim Bum-soo and hit a come-from-behind three-run shot over the left-center wall. It was Kim's fourth homer of the season and the final shot of the day.

After the game, manager Lee Seung-yeop said, "Kim Jae-hwan hit a wonderful winning home run like the fourth batter," adding, "He did not miss the opponent's mistake and showed everyone the swing that symbolizes Kim Jae-hwan."

Kim Jae-hwan said, "The burden disappeared even if Cho Soo-haeng hit a sacrifice fly (while stealing to third base). I want to say thank you to (Cho) Su-haeng," and a bright smile said, "I think I got a good result when I went in without any pressure and hit lightly."

Kim Jae-hwan, who was drafted by Doosan with the fourth overall pick in the second round of the first round in 2008, is a franchise star who has been active only in Doosan until this year. His performance is also impressive. He has a batting average of 0.284 with 234 homers, 840 RBIs and an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 0.886 in 1,247 games until last year. Notably, he used Jamsil Baseball Stadium, the largest of the 10 stadiums, as his home ground, while sweeping homeruns, RBIs, and most valuable player (MVP) in the 2018 season.

However, he has shown poor performance recently. He played 23 arches in 128 games during the 2022 season, but only posted a batting average of 0.248. He also played in 132 games last year, but did not show much performance with a batting average of 0.220 with 10 home runs.

Frustrated, Kim Jae-hwan sweated hard for his revival. He volunteered to join the wrap-up camp that took place after the end of last season, and later moved to Kang Jung-ho Baseball Academy in Los Angeles, the U.S., to clean up his batting form.

Is he saying he never betrays his sweat?" Kim Jae-hwan has been active, posting a batting average of 0.302 (16 hits in 53 times at bat) with four homers and 14 RBIs in 15 games this season. Most of all, it is encouraging that the distribution of hits that have been biased toward the right is evenly distributed. The home run he hit on this day alone is not his signature pull, but rather the result of pushing with force.

"It is a bit premature to say at this point," Kim Jae-hwan said. "(The home run that I pushed this year) came out just now. If I do this, I think I will get a good hit. I don't feel bad. I think it will give me an opportunity to gain confidence. I try to feel good because I think I am going in a good way."

"(After the 2022 season) I had to undergo elbow surgery, which delayed preparation for the camp, and I think there were many setbacks in preparing for the season," he said. "So I had less time off this year. That's why I think I had enough time to prepare."

Kim Jae-hwan, Doosan's representative hitter, has been called a key player for his team several times ahead of the opening in recent seasons. This year was no different. It may be a bit of a burden, but Kim Jae-hwan accepted it positively.

"I've heard that every time I've been to camp for 9 to 10 years. I think I'm still the center of Doosan's team. I'm taking it well," Kim Jae-hwan said.

Kim Jae-hwan will face off with "Korean Monster" Ryu Hyun-jin on the 11th. Ryu Hyun-jin, who wrote 98 wins, 52 losses, 1 save and 2.80 ERA in the KBO League from 2006 to 2012, and advanced to the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2013 to 2023 and posted 78 wins, 48 losses, 1 save and 3.27 ERA, is a left-handed ace who represents Korean baseball in name and reality. Although he has slowed down a bit with two losses and an ERA of 8.36 (16 runs in 14 innings) in three games since returning to the KBO league this year, the prevailing view is that he will soon show the same performance as before.

"I'm curious, too. I'm a year younger than I am from the same region (Incheon), but I've never played in a platoon in high school. I'm also curious and excited," Kim Jae-hwan said. "I played against Ryu once in middle school, and his memory still lingers in my mind. I like the curve now, but it's still in my head right now."

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