Brian O’Grady (31) was eventually kicked out. The two months I spent with him became the worst time for the Hanwha Eagles.안전놀이터
Hanwha announced a waiver for O’Grady on May 31. It was a decision to leave after recording a batting average of 0.125 and an OPS (sum of on-base percentage and slugging percentage) of 0.337 in 22 regular season games (86 at-bats). He was sent to the second team twice and the club endured enough to undergo readjustment, but he left Korea without being able to rebound.
Initially, Hanwha expected O’Grady’s ability to hit long shots in the United States and Japan. He gave up on renewing his contract with Mike Tuckman, who recorded a batting average of 0.289 with 12 homers and 19 stolen bases last year, and chose O’Grady. It was a decision that gave up all of Tuchman’s other strengths, including defense and running.
But the ball didn’t hit the bat. O’Grady’s contact was too bad compared to last year when he played for Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) (batting average 0.213). The strikeout rate per at-bat reached 46.5% (27.7% in 2022). This is the worst performance among hitters who have appeared in 30 or more at-bats this season. The OPS of 0.337 is also the lowest among foreign hitters in the history of the KBO League.
Any foreign hitter selection can fail. No matter how good a career is, players fail to adapt to the Korean stage and go back. But the most lethal thing about O’Grady is time. It took him two months to decide on a replacement.
Hanwha team gave him 86 at-bats to him, who failed to show signs of improvement in the 1st and 2nd divisions. He had no foreign hitter in the KBO League with an OPS of less than 0.4 and so many plate appearances. The closest was Leo Ruiz (94 at-bats, OPS 0.496), who played for the LG Twins last year. LG, which had excellent domestic batters, suffered less damage from Ruiz’s sluggishness. However, Hanwha, which desperately needed a foreign player to play, was different. Over the past two months, Hanwha has been at the bottom in terms of batting average (0.223), OPS (0.617), and points scored (167 points).
Hanwha said it would recruit a new foreign hitter as soon as possible. As pitcher Ricardo Sanchez has already been recruited, there is only one replacement card left. You need to find a hitter with a floor (the lower limit of guaranteed grades). That way, Hanwha can also stably operate other ships after the summer.