Hanwha Debs has become so strong, Kim Tae-yeon, who doesn’t even go on a honeymoon, said, “To survive the competition…”

Hanwha infielder Kim Tae-yeon (26) will marry her bride-to-be Kim Ji-young at 12:10 p.m. on the 17th at the Seoul-based wedding hall. It is common to go on a honeymoon after the ceremony, but Kim Tae-yeon comes back to Daejeon as soon as she becomes a new bride and continues her personal training.

Kim Tae-yeon, who has been exercising at Hanwha Life Eagles Park, Daejeon’s home stadium, since her inactive period began this month, said, “I’m ready for the wedding. I just need to prepare for the next season.” “I can go on a trip later, but now I have to work hard in baseball to survive. I made the decision with my wife. I thank my wife for understanding. I will train again the day after the wedding.” 슬롯머신

Kim Tae-yeon, a “multi-man” who crosses the inside and outside, has been to the second division once in the past two years, but has been the mainstay of Hanwha’s first division. After finishing his military service as an active member, he joined the first division in August 2021, and displayed a surprising performance with a batting average of .31 (53 hits in 176 times at bat) of three homers and 34 RBIs in 53 games, raising his presence.

In 2022, when he tried to move to an outfielder position, he suffered ups and downs with a batting average of 240 (97 hits in 404 at-bats) and seven homers and 53 RBIs in 119 games, but rebounded with a batting average of 261 (64 hits in 245 at-bats) and four homers and 25 RBIs in 91 games this year. After returning to the second division due to poor performance in April, he led the Hanwha lineup along with Noh Si-hwan and Chae Eun-sung with a batting average of 280 (54 hits in 192 at-bats) and four homers and 23 RBIs in 70 games from June.

Having adapted to his unstable outfield defense from his main position to some extent, Kim has expanded his options by crossing four positions: first baseman (191 innings for 23 starts in 32 games), right fielder (195 ⅓ innings for 27 starts in 31 games), third baseman (38 innings for 4 starts in 9 games), and second baseman (41 innings for 5 starts in 6 games). “As a player with good athletic ability, he can play 70 to 80 percent of his positions in various places,” Choi thanked Kim. “Thank you for your hard work here and there.”

However, Kim Tae-yeon is also seeing his performance improve to the extent that he cannot be sure whether he is a member of the Korean pro baseball league. He recruited veteran infielder An Chi-hong, who has been proven in the FA market, for up to 7.2 billion won (6.37 million U.S. dollars) for four plus two years, and named the oldest outfielder in the league in the second draft. Outfielder Jonathan Peraza, who is a foreign player and specializes in batting, also signed a contract by filling a new upper limit of 1 million dollars.

With the addition of the three players, internal competition has intensified. Since An Chi-hong’s main position is at second base, Jung Eun-won and Moon Hyun-bin, who previously shared the position, are also preparing to move to outfield. Hanwha’s outfield, which includes Kim Kang-min and Peraza, is no longer Muju Gongsan. Choi In-ho, who returned from military service at Sangmu in June this year, also showed his potential in the second half of this year, and challenged himself to become a starting member of the outfield.

Depending on how competitive Jung Eun-won and Moon Hyun-bin are, An Chi-hong can share the first base position with Chae Eun-sung. An environment has been created that has no choice but to directly affect Kim Tae-yeon’s playing time as he moves to and from first, second, third, and right field. As in the past few years, chances are not unconditionally guaranteed in the first team.

Kim knows better than anyone else. “I think competition will intensify as new players come in. I am trying my best to survive there. All I have to do is work harder,” Kim said. “I have no other goal next year. As competition has grown, I will do my best to survive as much as possible.”

Kim Tae-yeon, who was bent when his left middle finger hit the base while trying to steal second base against Kiwoom in Daejeon on Sept. 22, was out for the season due to a fractured mid-bone. Afterwards, he moved to Seosan Rehabilitation Team, and it took time for his bones to get stuck to him. He released a cast last month, but did not hold a bat to manage his condition. “I will start batting training if I have no problem during the hospital treatment on the 19th. As I have not been able to continue batting since my injury, I need to increase my practice from winter as much as possible. I will prepare for camp by hitting as much as I can until January,” Kim said. “I will live happily with my wife and work harder in baseball with a sense of responsibility.”