NC 'Wandering life' for more than a month → I can't go home even on Monday, but I'm still determined to play a good game for my fans even in poor conditions
NC 'Wandering life' for more than a month → I can't go home even on Monday, but I'm still determined to play a good game for my fans even in poor conditions
Blog Article
The NC Dinos, who have been struggling due to their "wandering life" for a month, did not falter and set an individual record of most hits in a game, thus making the winning series.안전놀이터
NC won 9-6 against the Lotte Giants at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 4th in the away game of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League regular season.
NC, which had a landslide victory by scoring 13 points by posting 19 hits on the previous day, scored a homerun by Kwon Hee-dong (2 runs in the third inning) and Kim Joo-won (1 run in the third inning) and Kim Hyung-joon (3 runs in the seventh inning) on the day. And another player who performed as well as them was genius.
Chun Jae-hwan, who didn't have many chances to be the main player this season, was listed in the starting lineup as the seventh batter and center fielder. "It's time for Jae-hwan to come up," NC manager Lee Ho-joon said before the game. "If you meet a left-handed pitcher (Charlie Barnes) when (Han) Seok-hyun is in good shape and then falter, your balance will collapse."
Chun Jae-hwan has met the expectations of the head coach. He grounded out to the third baseman at his first at-bat in the second inning, but his bat was properly rotated from the next at-bat. Coming out as a leadoff hitter in the top of the fourth inning with a 3-0 lead, he hit Lotte starter Charlie Barnes' two-seam fastball and got on base with a double that passed by the third baseman. One out later, at Kim Han-byeol's at-bat, he completely stole Barnes' pitching timing and succeeded in stealing third base, and homered when Kim Han-byeol had a hit.
After the game was turned upside down by giving up six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, he scored a point to catch up. At the third batter's box in the sixth inning, he touched a low changeup and managed to make a lucky hit that slightly exceeded the height of the second baseman. Later, he advanced to the third base by stealing second base and hitting an infield grounder, and added a run when pinch hitter Park Min-woo grounded out to first.
Since then, Shin had a hit in front of center field in the seventh inning and a hit to right field in the ninth inning, finishing the game with four hits and two runs from five times at bat. It is the first time that he has had four hits in a game since joining the pro league in 2017.
After the game, Chun Jae-hwan met with reporters and said, "I feel the best because the team can win when I have a good record." "I didn't have a good feeling at the beginning of the game, but I think the day was lifted as luck followed in the second at-bat (in the fourth inning)," he said.
On the day, Chun Jae-hwan managed to steal two bases at the base, all of which led to a run scored. "We have prepared hard since the beginning of the season and analyzed a lot of opposing pitchers," he said. "I think I saw a little light when I went out to the base today." "I also saw the light that I came home because the batters had team batting and made sacrifices," he said, giving credit to his teammates.
NC has not played at its home stadium, Changwon NC Park, for more than a month since the match against LG on the 29th of last month. Safety checks and follow-up measures were carried out as the spectator's death occurred, and all aluminum rubbers that caused the accident were removed, but the future schedule was postponed indefinitely as the reopening schedule did not come out. As a result, players even used to practice swing in hotel rooms as they continued their away lives.
"It's my first time doing it like this," said Shin Jin-hwan, who said, "I definitely feel the importance of the home stadium once again." He confessed, "If there is no obstacle in the hitting cycle or condition, I think it's a lie." "The game must continue even in a poor environment, and we are preparing to show good performances to our fans," he said.
Players are not even able to go home properly due to a series of "traveling life." "There are many situations where I can't go on Sundays or Mondays. This time, I went to Gwangju for the first time in a long time because I have a Children's Day series," said Shin.
After graduating from Hwasun High School and Korea University, Shin joined the Korean pro baseball team in 2017, and made his debut in the first division in 2022 after joining the military, being released, and re-entering the team. Last year, he recorded a batting average of 0.284 in 89 games, keeping the team in the second half when Park and Son were absent. This year, however, he mostly played as a substitute and had a batting average of only 0.150 before the game.
"He made a lot of changes. He was greedy for long balls," Shin said. "I would have done it with confidence if I liked it from the beginning, but I had a hard time because I couldn't." "I tried to find something else in the meantime, and I'm getting better because the hitting coach helped me," he said. He still has thoughts on long balls. "There are many directions for hitting long balls, but I changed that," he said.
Finally, to the fans who couldn't visit Changwon NC Park, Chun Jae-hwan said, "I want to meet you a lot at home and have a good game, but I can't. The players feel that a lot because they supported me a lot from the away." "It's going to be hard, but if we overcome this crisis, we will have better results at the end of the season. I want to thank you all the time," he said.