SPOTV commentator Yang Sang-moon (62) had high praise for Chae Eun-sung (33-Hanwha) during the three-game series between Kiwoom and Hanwha on April 16-18. “She is more relaxed at the plate than she was in LG. I’ve gotten to the point where I can read the flow of the game on my own,” he said, noting that Chae has taken a step forward this year after joining Hanwha as a free agent.
In 61 games this season, Chae is batting .242 (9-for-72) with 10 home runs, 44 RBIs and an .834 OPS. It’s her best season since 2018, when she had a career-high season, and she’s a standout for Hanwha, which has a weaker batting lineup than LG, which is loaded with power hitters. He also deserves a lot of credit for hitting the most high-flying balls (four) in the league.
“Eun-sung did well in LG, but she seems to know when she needs to come to Hanwha, and she knows what to do (in close games) and hits,” said Yang Sang-moon. This season, Chae Eun-sung is batting 3-for-5 in scoring position and has the most walks (6) on the team. Her Win Probability Added (WPA), a measure of her contribution to a team’s win probability, ranks fourth in the league (1.49).
Yang concluded, “Hanwha’s younger players may have gained a broader perspective on baseball because of Eun-sung’s help. If you want to give something to the younger players, you have to study baseball and have a theory. Just as Eun-sung learned from (Kim) Hyun-soo when he was in the LG, I think Eun-sung is doing well in baseball because he is passing on his knowledge to the younger players.”
Yang and Chae are a very special teacher and student to each other. Chae made her first-team debut in May 2014, the same month Yang took over as LG’s manager. After joining the organization in 2009 as a developmental player, Chae Eun-sung’s baseball career was transformed when she met Yang. On May 27 of that year at Samsung Electronics in Jamsil, Chae Eun-sung hit her first hit in her first-team debut, and Yang handed her the ball with a handwritten message that read, “Become a presidential candidate.
“At the time, I thought that Eun-sung would be good enough, if not better than this, and I kept giving her chances because I had that faith. I still do, but from the first time I saw her, her hitting mechanics were clean and good. Above all, I could see that he was sincere and hardworking. Even when he didn’t play, his face was never dark. I could see that she always wanted to play with a bright face, so I thought, ‘If I give her a chance, she will do well.
Yang recognized Chae’s hitting skills and hard work ethic and gave her a steady starting spot in the LG outfield, which was full of veterans. Despite some growing pains, Yang pushed her hard and developed her into a center fielder. “It’s not right to say I raised her. Eun-sung did it on her own. I gave a lot of training to the young players in the final camp, and she overcame it all,” Yang said.안전놀이터
Even after Yang left LG, Chae Eun-sung never forgot to thank him and always kept in touch to ask how he was doing. She even gives them a big bow when they meet at the baseball field. “We’ve been through a lot together, so I can’t help but feel affectionate when I’m commentating on the game,” says Yang, who also received coffee from Chae Eun-sung, before laughing and saying, “She’s still not good enough (to be a big player) in my eyes. She’s doing well now, but I hope she can do better,” he said, cheering her on.