The Hanwha Eagles will play baseball at its new stadium this year. The number of spectators will increase to 20,000, and the shape of the baseball stadium will also change. What stands out the most is the 8-meter-high wall that will be installed on the right fence. The Green Monster, the left fence of Fenway Park in Boston's home stadium, comes to mind. Considering Hanwha's team's color, there is a possibility that the team will become an Orange Monster.토토사이트

The new stadium stands 99 meters away from the left pole, but 95 meters away from the right (first base) outfield pole. The structure is advantageous for left-handed hitters, but an eight-meter wall is erected on the right fence to offset this. Considering the angle at which left-handed hitters cross the fence, production of home runs is highly likely to decline. The new stadium will likely become a relatively right-handed stadium, while the statistics of left-handed hitters are reduced, the possibility is high.

Hanwha's move to the stove league was also made in consideration of this.

Two foreigners from Hanwha this year, Weiss and Ponce, are both right-handed pitchers. Both of them use powerful fastballs and breaking balls centered on horizontal movement (slider and sweeper). They can detect right-handed hitters for sure, and they may struggle somewhat with left-handed hitters.

The gap was stark for Weiss. His OPS against right-handed hitters was only 0.469, but that against left-handed hitters was as high as 0.732. If the fence blocks a big outfield hit by left-handed hitters, the gap could be completely different.

Um Sang-baek, who was hired as an FA, was also weaker to left-handed hitters like most other sidearm pitchers. Last season, the OPS against right-handed hitters was 0.723, while the OPS against left-handed hitters was 0.790.

Among the starters, Weiss, Ponce, Um Sang-baek and Moon Dong-ju are the only left-handed ones who will serve as the ace pitchers for right-handed pitchers. However, Ryu has also shown a "reverse split" stat, which is somewhat weaker to left-handed batters than to right-handed ones in most seasons of his career. He was also stronger in right-handedness (0.673) than in left-handedness (0.768).

The foreign hitter for Hanwha's new season has been decided by Esteban Floral. He is an outfielder with excellent athletic ability in right-handedness and left-handedness. Although he is evaluated as having weaknesses in contact, there is a possibility that those weaknesses will be offset against KBO league pitchers. Floral is left-handed, but he recruited FA right-handed shortstop Shim Woo-jun from the stove league. Shim Woo-jun has been added while right-handedness has also shown strength in the existing lineup.

Hanwha is a team that has right-handed hitters in all of its central hitters, including Noh Si-hwan, Chae Eun-seong and An Chi-hong. If Choi Jae-hoon and Kim Tae-yeon have right-handed hitters, Shim Woo-joon, who also plays shortstop, the lineup of right-handed hitters, will be considerably stronger. At least, there is no need to worry too much about the 8-meter fence that is far to the right.

In addition, there are many left-handed pitchers among new pitchers entering the KBO League. The strategy is in response to the increase in the number of left-handed hitters in the entire league. Amid this trend, the fact that right-handed hitters can fill the lineup at right-handed stadiums is a factor that can bring about a "comparative advantage" in terms of power.

The slow negotiation of the FA contract with Ha Joo-seok may also be due to the situation of the new stadium. Right-handed left-handed infielder Ha Joo-seok is likely to be a disadvantageous factor.

The biggest reason Hanwha chose Floral instead of Peraza is its defense. Peraza's defense capability was evaluated as a "big drawback" in the Major League. With the presence of "orange monsters" in the new stadium, the defense capabilities of outfielders such as fence play become even more important.

Based on his excellent athletic ability, Floral's value with outfield defense ability above the level increases even more. The wide range of center fielder Floral is effective in handling balls coming out of the right fence. While leaving the right-center to Floral, right field can only focus on the high fence.