It’s no longer the last-place Hanwha. It was a meaningful day for Hanwha, which succeeded in losing last place in four years. It was impossible without the Bodhisattva fans who did not leave in the rain.
Hanwha won 8-0 against Lotte in Daejeon on the 14th. Escaped six consecutive losses. Hanwha’s postseason was frustrated early, but the meaning of victory on the day was very different. Regardless of the remaining two games, Hanwha finally confirmed its last place in four years with the victory.
With Hanwha 57 wins, 79 losses and 6 draws (winning rate of .419), Kiwoom’s final ranking, which finished the season first with 58 wins, 83 losses and 3 draws (winning rate of .411) the day before (13th), was confirmed as 10th. Hanwha will lead Kiwoom even if it loses the remaining two games. It has secured at least 9th place by escaping from the swamp of last place in 10th place, which has continued for three consecutive years since 2020.
Hanwha has been in a long dark period with only one postseason (2018) in the last 16 years since 2008, but there has never been such a dark and painful period as in the last three years. In 2020, he suffered a severe ordeal with the most ties in the history of the KBO League, 18 consecutive losses, and continued to be in 10th place for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2022. 경마
If she ranks 10th this year, she could have been disgraced as the last place for the fourth consecutive year. Lotte ranked last for four consecutive years from 2001 to 2004, but at that time it was an eight-club system. No team has been ranked 10th for four consecutive years since 2015, when the 10-club system began. Hanwha could have suffered the worst disgrace if it went wrong, but it managed to avoid it.
Hanwha has had ups and downs this year as well, with the last two games left of the season left. From mid-June to early July, he dreamed of jumping to the mid-range with eight consecutive wins, but in the second half, he realized the limitations of his power. The team depth was not completed yet, and the performance was jagged. In the meantime, Hanwha, where Moon Dong-ju and Noh Si-hwan have established themselves as pitching pillars, has transformed into a team that can promise a bright future by securing young prospects such as Kim Seo-hyun, Moon Hyun-bin and Hwang Joon-seo.
It was impossible to get out of the last place without fans who gave constant support even in the dark days of hitting the bottom. On this day, the game against Lotte was also suspended due to rain for 51 minutes from 5:46 p.m. to 6:47 p.m., before the start of the fourth inning. Heavy rain continued in the middle and second half of the game, but a total of 9,153 spectators cheered enthusiastically, shouting “The Strongest Hanwha” while wearing raincoats and umbrellas.
This year, Hanwha attracted a total of 544,945 spectators in 71 home games in Daejeon. Average attendance per game is 7675. Although it ranks ninth overall in the league, it showed a clear increase in spectators of 54.3% compared to the previous year (4,975). Due to the construction of the new stadium right next to it, even in the environment with a small parking space, the “Buddhist Bodhisattva” fans continued to walk throughout the season. On the day of confirming the last place, I was able to confirm my fan sentiment again in the support in the rain.
It was a moment that Hanwha’s team and the entire club were deeply grateful and should not be forgotten. After the game, Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho also said, “The temperature dropped a lot due to the sudden rain, and I thank our fans for staying there until the end,” and vowed, “Our players will also do their best to repay the fans’ support.”
Hanwha has the last two games left against Lotte in Daejeon from the 15th to the 16th. If Hanwha wins both games and Samsung loses against Changwon NC on the 15th, it can finish eighth in the final standings. Hanwha’s season is not over yet.
