The Lotte Giants may have finished with the worst preseason record in the Korea Baseball Organization last weekend, but as third baseman Hwang Jae-gyun tells it, spring ball can be thrown out the window.
The Giants went 3-11-3 to finish 10th in preseason, but in Hwang’s words, “A preseason is just that, a preseason.”
“We all have completely different mindsets going into the regular season,” Hwang said Monday during the annual KBO media day, held four days before the start of the new season. “Be it position players or pitchers, the preseason is where we try different things.”
Hwang may have some cause for optimism. While there may be some correlation between preseason records and regular season standings, there isn’t anything so definitive and clear-cut that the worst preseason club can be so easily ruled out. Since 2001, the last club in the preseason went on to reach the postseason five times.
Two clubs — the 1996 Haitai Tigers and the 2013 Samsung Lions — finished dead last in the preseason but went on to capture both the pennant and the Korean Series.
Hwang, a 28-year-old coming off his best power season with career highs of 26 home runs and 97 RBIs, did his share of tinkering. The right-handed batter got rid of his leg kick that was a signature to his swing until last year. Though he failed to leave the yard in the spring with the new approach at the plate — three doubles, one triple but no long balls in 16 games — Hwang still batted .310/.370/.429.
“I am still not fully used to the new swing, and I am worried because the start of the season is fast approaching,” Hwang said.
“But I’ve been working hard on it over the winter, and I did fairly well in the preseason. I think I will stick with this.”Â
Hwang said the Giants will end their postseason drought at three this year and are “good enough to be among the top four clubs” in 2016.
“I think we’ve added some good pieces,” Hwang said of the offseason that included the signing of All-Star closer Son Seung-lak in free agency. “We’re appreciative of the front office for having done so much for us. We believe we can be among the top four, and every player feels the same way.”
Hwang is slated to become a free agent after this season, but he said he will try not to become too distracted by the prospects of a big pay day.
“It could put some pressure on me and so I will try not to think about free agency,” Hwang said. “I believe the team has to do well first before I can be considered a valuable free agent. I will put the team first.”
Before hitting full free agency, Hwang became eligible for posting for Major League Baseball clubs last season, having completed his equivalent of seven full seasons. No MLB club put in a bid for Hwang in the silent auction, an embarrassing turn of events for the player harboring big league dreams.
Hwang said he will only think about the majors after the end of the upcoming season.
The player did say he’d like to improve in every facet of the game and hit more home runs than last year.
Hwang will also try to become a threat on the base paths. He stole three in the preseason. He has reached double figures in steals in all but one season in his first nine seasons, but his tallies have fallen steadily from 26 in 2012 to 11 last year as his power numbers have gone up.
“This year, I will try to be one of the more aggressive base runners,” Hwang added. (Yonhap)
