“It is an honor in itself to play the national team-centered lineup. I will try to harass the opposing pitchers with a sense of responsibility.”
At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, which will be held from mid-September to early October, Noh Si-hwan (Hanwha Eagles), who will be in charge of the center batting line of the Korean national baseball team, conveyed his aspirations.
Noh Si-hwan, who was nominated by Hanwha for the 3rd overall in the 2nd round of the 2nd round in 2019, is a right-handed infielder who has been active only in Hanwha until this year. He had a batting average of 0.250 (334 hits in 1337 at-bats), 37 homers and 199 RBIs in 420 career games until last season.
Showing further improvement this year, he has emerged as a strong hitter representing the KBO League. As of the 20th, before the game, his performance was a batting average of 0.308 (123 hits in 400 at-bats), 29 homers (1st place), 85 RBIs (1st place), and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.980 (1st place) in 102 games played.
In this way, he showed his skills in full bloom, and even though he left only one of his first 30 home runs in his debut, Si-Hwan Noh, whom he recently met, emphasized that he had no home run greed.
He said, “Since I didn’t think about home runs from the beginning of the season, I think I’ve come this far.” Do not hit with all your might. I knew that if I hit the center of the bat lightly and accurately with only about 50% of the force, I could go over it. It seems that there have been a lot of home runs lately because I went to bat with the thought of focusing on the center without straining.”먹튀검증
The change in the heating point is also indispensable for the growth of Noh Si-hwan. Hanwha coach Choi Won-ho, whom I met during the season, commented on Noh Si-hwan’s increased long hits, saying, “We have a hitting point ahead. In most cases, if you put the hitting point in front, you can’t hit a breaking ball, but Noh Si-hwan hits a breaking ball while matching the timing of the fastball. So he is making career highs,” he explained.
Noh Si-hwan also said, “The biggest thing is to change the heating point. The batting form has also changed slightly, but there is no major change other than the adjustment of the hitting point,” he nodded.
Noh Si-hwan is cruising toward becoming the first home run king since his debut, sending 29 batted balls over the fence. The strongest competitor is Choi Jeong (21 homers, SSG Landers), who is second in this category. Although there is a slight difference, if Noh Si-hwan shows Choi Jeong-yi’s unique driving style during the two weeks he is participating in the Asian Games, the competition for the home run king can become even hotter. Choi Jeong-eun is also the player Noh Si-hwan most wants to be like.
Noh Si-hwan said, “Choi Jung-sunbae is a really great player. He has been consistently holding up at third base every season without any injuries. He may have an injury while playing baseball. I had a lot of regrets last year as well as the year before last because I had an injury, but I want to be consistent,” he said.
In the Hangzhou Asian Games, Noh Si-hwan is likely to serve as the number 4 hitter for the Korean national baseball team. Because when he looks at the current entry, it’s hard to find a player with that much power.
Regarding this, Noh Si-hwan said, “It is an honor to play the national team’s center batting line.” No matter what batting order he is placed in, he will represent the country, so he will try to bully the opposing pitchers at bat with a sense of responsibility,” he said confidently.
At the same time, he said, “It is the first Taegeuk mark since the youth representative in high school. I’m looking forward to it, and I think it will remain in my memory because it’s my first (adult) national team. It can be a good experience,” he said. “In a way, it is a great opportunity in my baseball life. I think I should do well,” he added.
However, the national team recently encountered bad news. Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom Heroes), a key hitter, was virtually canceled due to surgery for an ankle injury.
Noh Si-hwan said, “It’s a pity that (Lee) Jung-hoo is missing. He has a lot of experience and has dealt with a lot of Japanese and Taiwanese pitchers, so he was an older brother who could teach me a lot of such know-how. He feels a lot of regret as he falls out,” he said, “but you have to overcome it. It doesn’t mean we lose the game just because Jung-Hoo hyung is missing. I think even the players who are in the roster right now can win gold medals. Unity seems to be important,” he stressed.