There is a prospect that the Hanwha Eagles will not be able to avoid last place this season. 스포츠토토

Ahead of the opening of the 2023 KBO League, Star News surveyed five commentators about the ‘last team’, and as a result, three pointed to Hanwha. Next, NC was 1 person and “I don’t know” was 1 person.

The common assessment was that the number of players with potential increased, but question marks coexisted as they had not yet been proven, as a likely reason for Hanwha’s bottom place for four consecutive years. Member A said, “We have very promising pitchers, but it is still unknown.” Member B pointed out, “Young pitchers such as Moon Dong-ju and Kim Seo-hyun have joined, but the starting lineup is a question mark.”

There were also opinions pointing out the limitations of the power itself, which has been in last place for three consecutive years since 2020. Member B predicted, “The fact that FA Chae Eun-seong joined is obviously a great help. Commissioner C said, “It is not easy to bring down one or two teams. If you look at it this way, it seems that Hanwha is still lacking the most,” but noted that “there are many IFs (to burst their potential) instead.” In this year’s demonstration game, Hanwha also showed a different look by climbing to the top with 9 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses (0.750 win rate).

Last year, NC, the 6th place team, received 1 vote. Member D ranked NC at the bottom and said, “The pitching staff is uneasy. Rather than being the last candidate, it is the team with the most worries.”

However, the general opinion of the commentators was that any team other than Hanwha and NC could be in last place. Member E, who was the only one who did not specify the bottom team, said, “This year, it is difficult to predict because the bottom ranks are chasing each other. The league is leveled, so I do not know which team will fall. He expressed the difficulty of choosing.

Member A, who chose Hanwha with difficulty, also said, “I think any team can come in last because weak teams have also strengthened well this year. A hassle is expected in the middle ranks.” Commissioner D said, “If you were to pick a last-place candidate, it came to mind at once, but this year is not the case.

◇ Survey commentators (in alphabetical order)
Na Ji-wan, Ryu Ji-hyeon, Park Yong-taek (KBSN Sports), Sim Jae-hak (MBC Sports Plus), and Yang Sang-moon (SPOTV).