The KIA Tigers officially appointed Shim Jae-hak as the new general manager. As the vacancy of the head coach who oversees the composition of the team has been filled, attention is focusing on whether KIA will actively enter the trade market in the future. KIA’s weakness this season is definitely the catcher.
On May 8, KIA officially announced the appointment of Shim Jae-hak as the new leader. It was the person who filled the vacant position of former general manager Jang Jeong-seok, who resigned in disgrace right before the opening due to suspicion of asking for back money, after about a month.
Shim Jae-hak, who entered the professional stage in 1995, finished his career with the LG Twins (1995-1999), Hyundai Unicorns (2000), Doosan Bears (2001-2003) and KIA Tigers (2004-2008). . After a long period of leadership at Kiwoom Heroes (2009-2018), general manager Shim served as a commentator in 2019 and continued to communicate with baseball fans. He even made a brief return to the field this year as he took over as QC/hitting coach for the WBC baseball team.
Shim is a baseball player who is well versed in batting theory and data utilization. Leader Shim, who was recognized for his outstanding leadership skills while coaching with the Heroes, learned the trend of world baseball by walking on his feet at the WBC site held this year. He is evaluated as a baseball player suitable for the KIA club, which is the only KBO League club to introduce the Hawk Eye system and build its own data. In addition, this time he also served as a member of the KBO Strengthening Committee, which was launched to develop the national team.
In a phone call with MK Sports, Shim said, “After a long time in the field, I continued to study baseball even as a commentator. Even on the KBO national team, he continued to study data while taking on the role of quality control coach and power analysis. His last uniform during his active career was the KIA uniform, and he apologized to the fans for not performing well as a player at that time. He seized the opportunity to make up for that disappointment as the general manager. He will show baseball that KIA fans can understand,” he said with strength.
바카라사이트 With the appointment of general manager Shim, KIA will be able to accelerate the operation of the team this season and preparations for the upcoming rookie draft. In particular, it is expected to pay attention to strengthening weaknesses for the fall baseball challenge this season. In recent years, the most active KIA machine in the trade market is highly likely to take an active move in the system of general manager Shim.
KIA had already closely promoted the catcher trade in the process of saying goodbye to Park Dong-won (LG Twins) last year. Last winter, Joo Hyo-sang was traded, but it is difficult to see that the catcher’s weakness was erased at the beginning of this season.
The batting average of the KIA catchers this season is 0.118, which is the overwhelming lowest in the league. The slugging percentage of 0.132 is the league’s only catcher slugging percentage of 10%. The catcher’s WAR is -0.53 and the wRC+ is also 0.3, which is also the overwhelming lowest in the league.
If the catcher’s batting index still maintains the current trend in May, it is difficult to let go and stay still from the KIA club’s point of view. This is the reason why outfielders Choi Won-joon and Na Seong-beom, and infielder Kim Do-young’s sequential return will create conditions for a ‘win-now’ in the future. As in the case of pitcher Kim Se-hyun, who was brought by trade in the past in 2017, where the combined victory became the last puzzle, it is highly likely that the catcher will be the last puzzle this time.
An official from the baseball world said, “I heard that the KIA club was constantly knocking on the door to the trade market even before the opening. The atmosphere has been somewhat stagnant due to the vacancy of the leader, but with the appointment of Shim Jae-hak, it seems that the calculator will be beaten again. Catchers who can come to the trade market are limited. The card that KIA can take out is clear. The movement of the KIA club in the future will be interesting,” he hinted.