The first half is a failing grade of F. Will the trio of 18 billion won long-term contracts finally hold SSG Landers back?
SSG finished the first half of the 2023 KBO League with 46 wins, 1 draw, 32 losses, and a winning percentage of 0.590. Second place, 2.5 games behind the top-ranked LG Twins, they could have had a winning percentage of over six per cent if not for a late-season slump that saw them go 2-5 in July.
바카라사이트All in all, a strong showing. However, when they went wire-to-wire last year, they finished the first half with a winning percentage of 0.687. Compared to last year’s first-half momentum, which saw the team finish 4.5 games ahead of second place, the team’s strength has waned.The only thing that kept them in second place was the batting lineup, led by foreigner Guillermo Heredia, who led the league in batting average, and centre fielder Choi Jung, who led the league in home runs and RBIs.
However, SSG’s bullpen is in the middle of the pack, ranking seventh overall with a team ERA of 4.05 in the first half. This is especially true of the starting pitching staff, which has a team ERA of 4.60, the lowest in the league.
With the exception of foreign pitcher Kirk McCarty, who is currently recovering from forearm inflammation, who went 7-3 with a 2.52 ERA in 13 games, and local ace Kim Kwang-hyun, who went 5-2 with a 3.67 ERA in 14 games, all other starters have failed to meet expectations.
And the fact that SSG’s starters are struggling to look anything like the pre-season envisioned is largely due to the failure of the long-term contract duo of Park Jong-hoon and Moon Seung-won, who returned from injuries side-by-side in the middle of last season, to hold down the middle of the starting rotation.
Park Jong-hoon and Moon Seung-won, who underwent elbow ligament reconstruction surgery in mid-2021, signed long-term contracts in December that year for five years and 6.5 billion won, respectively. At the time, they seemed like reasonable deals before their free agency rights, given that they had posted double-digit wins or a three-run ERA in recent seasons.
However, as it turns out, his performance since returning from the middle of last year has been disappointing. For starters, Jong-hoon was a disappointing 3-5 with a 6.00 ERA in 11 games last year.
This year, he was given a full-time starting role and included in the opening rotation. However, after a disastrous 13 games with a 1-6 record and a 6.31 ERA, Jong-hoon was recently removed from the first team roster for the third time.
SSG manager Kim Won-hyung, who had tried to revive him by giving him time to recover, had to raise his hand. In 13 games, he has just three QS, a 0.273 batting average and a 1.74 WHIP. His performance has left his manager cold, as he is virtually unusable as a starter in the first team.
At this rate, it’s looking increasingly likely that Jong-hoon’s long-term contract will be an abject failure. If he doesn’t bounce back with a second-half surge, he’ll have wasted two seasons with little to show for it.
Moon Seung-won’s situation is better than Jong-hoon’s, but it’s still a concern for SSG. In 27 games, Moon has done a decent job with a 2-3 record, six shutouts, one save, and a 4.25 ERA. However, he was a pitcher who was expected to win 10 games a season as a full-time starter when they signed him to a long-term contract in the first place. However, Moon went 1-2 with a 6.43 ERA in four starts this year and was dropped from the starting rotation before mid-May.
Moon continued to struggle in May, posting a 10.13 ERA. However, he bounced back perfectly in June with a 1-0 record, six saves, and a 0.53 ERA. His ERA, which had been in the five-point range, dropped to the three-point range in July.
Last year, Moon Seung-won was used as both a closer and a reliever due to team circumstances. Based on his performance this year, a complete switch to the bullpen could actually be beneficial for the team.
If Moon Seung-won remains in the bullpen for the rest of the season, SSG will have signed a five-year, 5.5 billion won contract to use a pitcher who has never pitched a full-time reliever before.
At the team level, there are many more options to replace Moon in SSG’s bullpen, so this is not the best option, but rather the next best option based on cost and utilisation. The age of the entire bullpen, including Moon Seung-won, is also not a good thing for the team, as it could potentially lead to the development of a new young pitcher.
Without much hope for Moon Seung-won, SSG’s starting rotation will remain the team’s biggest problem in the second half of the season as they slip to the bottom of the league. Despite his brief stint as a saviour, Moon Seung-won’s first half report card still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of contribution.
Most shocking of all is Captain Han Yoo-seom’s lacklustre performance. After signing with SSG in December 2021 for a five-year, 6 billion won deal and leading the team to the integrated championship last year, Han Yoo-seom is experiencing his worst slump since his debut, batting just 0.185 with two home runs and 22 RBIs in the first half of the season. He barely avoided the bottom of the batting order as he failed to fill his regular at-bats. His on-base percentage has plummeted from 0.478 last year to 0.261 this year, and his slugging percentage has dropped from 0.372 last year to 0.270 this year.
Han has struggled before, with an OPS of just 0.771 in the 2019 season, but it wasn’t at this level. He’s been in the top 10 in home runs four times in his career. At the same time, he’s also a prolific walker, having drawn 66 walks last year, good for fifth in the league.
After 2017, when he became one of the best hitters in the league, he suddenly lost all of his accuracy, initiative, and power this year. It’s a slump that can only be described as mysterious.
But there were signs. Last season, Han Yoo-seom took on the role of captain and showed great leadership, bringing the squad together and leading the team to a consolidated title. But along the way, he also expressed the difficulties of being the team’s centre fielder. He indirectly admitted that the psychological burden was actually reflected in his performance.
At the same time, while Han hit a career-high 33 doubles last year, his on-base percentage dropped significantly to 0.478 compared to 0.534 in 2021. He also struck out 137 times last year, the most in a single season in his career.
Considering he’s now in his mid-30s, an age where it wouldn’t be surprising to see an aging curve, Hanyusum’s resurgence may take longer than expected.
While the gap in the batting order isn’t very large, it could be bigger than you think. It’s also harder to make an impact when your team leader isn’t the focal point of your batting line-up.
The first half of the 2023 season for SSG’s three long-term signings is clearly a failing grade of F or, at best, a D in some cases. Can they help SSG rebound in the second half and compete for the top spot?