Han Dong-hee (24) and Noh Si-hwan (23), a year apart from each other at the same third base position, seemed to be following in the footsteps of the right-handed hitting giants of Korean baseball.

They seemed to be on a similar growth curve. They were compared to the right-handed batting legends of their respective teams. Han Dong-hee was the ‘post-Lee Dae-ho’ and Kim Tae-gyun was the ‘post-Tae-gyun’. This season, however, the difference between the two has become clear. Han Dong-hee has been in a severe slump all season.

He hasn’t been able to revise his hitting mechanics and has been lost in the process. It was her first season after Lee Dae-ho’s retirement, but she hasn’t been able to fill the void left by Lee. In 77 games, he’s batting just 21-for-55 (254 at-bats) with four home runs, 28 RBIs, and a .569 OPS. On July 7, he was sent to the second team for the second time this season.

Noh, on the other hand, has improved by leaps and bounds this year. In 94 games this year, Noh is 3-for-7 (114-for-371) with 26 home runs, 71 RBIs, and a .962 OPS. His three-homer game against KT on Sept. 9 further solidified his lead in the home run race. The gap to second-place Choi (21) is five. He is on track for his first 30 home runs and the home run title. RBIs and RBIs are also on his way.

In the previous three seasons, Han Dong-hee was clearly in the lead and the graph was more upward. This year, however, Noh has taken a huge step up, and the comparison has become more even. Nevertheless, there is no doubt about Han’s potential and talent. It’s no secret that she has one of the best batting speeds in the league, and she used to split the ball. It’s safe to say she lost her way for a while.

Manager Larry Sutton said, “You have to be the best Han Dong-hee, not the post Lee Dae-ho,” and “Han Dong-hee is a hitter who hits hard when she is good. I hope she can find her good form again.” We are waiting for her to grow and support her. The pressure of following in the footsteps of a legendary senior was bound to weigh on her.

The outside world can’t help but feel sorry for her. Kang Jung-ho, the first shortstop to hit 40 home runs in the KBO and a pioneer for Kim Ha-seong (San Diego), extended a saving hand to Han Dong-hee. Kang, who currently runs a baseball academy in Los Angeles and is also a YouTube creator, recently sent a love letter to Han on his YouTube channel, saying, “After this season, I would like to coach this player, and I personally want to come and train and coach her because I want her to do well in the next season.”

Although Kang Jeong-ho left the Korean baseball scene in disgrace after a drunk driving case, he has been exploring new avenues as a coach. In particular, NC Son Asub traveled to Los Angeles last winter to work with Kang Jeong-ho to make a change, and it paid off. He focused on producing line drives with more than a 20-degree launch angle and rebounded from a career-low performance last year. This year, Son has bounced back, batting .326 (119-for-366) with four home runs, 54 RBIs, and an OPS of .816, with production comparable to his prime.

Like Son’s case, we’re curious to see what happens to Han Dong-hee with Kang’s guidance. This is where Kang Jung-ho himself came in.

Along with Kang Jeong-ho, another helper who helped transform Son was Heo Il, a former Lotte employee. With the help of Hank Conger (now coach of the Minnesota Twins), whom he met at Lotte, Heo started coaching at his alma mater, Huntington Beach High School, and is now the hitting coach at NCAA Azusa Pacific University.안전놀이터

Han knows that Jung-ho Kang wants to join her. And Coach Hale is calling on her to build a bridge. Before going down to the second team, Han Dong-hee said, “I know about Kang Jeong-ho’s request because people talked about it,” but she also said, “(Heo) has an older brother in the United States, and he asked me to come over once. Anyway, I did private training abroad in the winter, and I’m thinking about it (private training in the U.S.).”

Han is now at a crossroads. Whether the current plateau is just growing pains and she will soar further, or whether she will never get out of her current wanderings. She can’t afford to ignore the military, and some say she missed the timing of her enlistment. It would be great to see a dramatic rebound for Han Dong-hee at the end of the season. However, the need for a turning point in her career is far from over.