Hanwha's spring when we laughed and cried

The Hanwha Eagles is rewriting the history of professional baseball success this season. It has already been at the center of attention even before the opening of the season. This is due to the return of ace pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin (38) who played in the Major League for 11 seasons in February.  토토사이트먹튀

Expectations have continued to increase box office success. Hanwha has been strong enough to sell out all five consecutive home games that began on March 29. If the final home game (against Lotte Giants on October 16) last year is included, it will be the club's tie record (six consecutive games have been sold out).   

The sellout procession is going well, regardless of home or away. Hanwha, which played a total of 15 games as of last 10 days, has sold out 11 of them. Clubs in the Seoul metropolitan area are also enjoying the "Hanwha Specialty" to the fullest. It was natural for the team to sell out two consecutive games (March 23-24) in Jamsil against the LG Twins, which was the season opener. All three consecutive games between the Kiwoom Heroes and the Hanwha Eagles, which were held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul from the 5th to the 7th, were also sold out. It was the first time since 2016 that Gocheok Dome, which has a rather small number of home fans unlike Jamsil Stadium, was sold out.

Hanwha has set a new record that even KIA Tigers, LG and Lotte failed to achieve, which is a "happiness guarantee check." On the 9th, it gathered 23,598 spectators against Doosan Bears in Jamsil even though it was a weekday, and added a sold-out record in the game on the 10th, when the day game was held due to the 22nd National Assembly election.

Profits are as important as achievements for the club. Hanwha is smiling broadly every day. "The number of spectators has increased by about 37 percent compared to the same period last year," Hanwha said. "The final audience was about 560,000 last year, and we are aiming for more than 600,000 spectators this year." Not only ticket sales but also product sales have soared. In line with the recruitment of Ryu Hyun-jin, Hanwha launched a commemorative product for his return and opened a pop-up store. "The sales of products such as uniforms and miscellaneous goods have also increased by 10 times compared to the previous year," Hanwha explained.

Sponsor sales are also booming. Hanwha said, "Most of the advertising sales were closed even before Ryu Hyun-jin returned. We thought it would not be easy to renew the contract due to the slump in the main sponsor industry last year, but we have established a strategy to sell sponsorships," adding, "However, we are continuing to sell additional products by developing new advertising media as we have received more inquiries about additional advertisements since Ryu's return." To date, advertising revenue has already increased by 18 percent year-on-year, and if additional sales continue, revenue will increase by that amount."

It also boosted the brand's value, which cannot be measured by money. Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo appeared in Hanwha's uniform at the conference hall on the 1st and said, "Let's completely wash off the sluggishness and lethargy of the city and province like Hanwha." Daejeon Transportation Corporation's advertisement congratulating Ryu Hyun-jin on his return made headlines at Jungang-ro Station, which is closest to Daejeon Stadium. Hanwha said, "Based on the proposal and full cooperation of Daejeon Metropolitan Railway Corporation, we will proceed with the Hanwha Eagles branding within the first half of the year."

However, there is no guarantee that the box office will continue. The unprecedented success of the game was possible thanks to unprecedented performance and expectations. However, the Korean pro baseball has returned to its original form. While winning consecutive home games, Hanwha ranked No. 1 in the league by winning seven consecutive games, but lost five consecutive games from May 5 to May 10, showing serious fluctuations in its performance. The ranking has also rapidly dropped to the fifth place (9 wins and seven losses) as of Tuesday. Maintaining the winning percentage of 50 percent is also not guaranteed.

Even looking at Lotte's precedents last year, there is a big correlation between performance and success. Lotte, which continued its No. 1 competition until May 19 last year, successfully recorded 14,435 spectators in May and 16,146 in June in the average number of spectators per game. However, as the ranking battle grew further apart, box office success gradually declined, and the average number of spectators stood at 10,701 in September.

Hanwha has already invested a large amount of money in high-paid players, including Ryu Hyun-jin. Only when results are made can the investment be recovered.