Giants speedster Hwang Seong-bin takes pride in improving defense

After enjoying his best offensive season in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in 2024, Lotte Giants center fielder Hwang Seong-bin has started taking more pride in his improving defense.

The 27-year-old batted .320 and ranked third in the KBO with 51 steals last year, while finishing eighth overall with 94 runs scored. He was just the type of pesky leadoff man that pitchers hate facing.

Hwang was chosen for his first All-Star team last year, but it wasn't for his defense. And once he identified an area of improvement, Hwang went to work at it over the offseason and during spring training.

So far, so good.

"This may be a bit premature, but I think I am a better defender now than a year ago," Hwang told reporters Monday before the Giants played the Kiwoom Heroes in a preseason game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. "I've worked really hard at it."

Specifically, Hwang said he worked on getting a better jump in center and on making sure he doesn't rush his throws. More so than anything technical, though, Hwang said he has begun taking a more focused, mature approach toward his defense.

"My coaches have said I don't have the same focus on the field that I have at the plate," he said. "So I am trying to stay locked in when I play defense. As the team's center fielder, I've been trying to be more responsible and catch everything."

Hwang acknowledged that his speed can help him make up for any miscues with his reaction off the bat, but added: "I am not playing center field just to catch routine fly balls that anyone can get to. I want to be able to make difficult catches."

As the leadoff man, Hwang said he would like to get on base at a higher clip. He had a good, but not great, on-base percentage of .375 last year.

"Our bench coach (Kim Min-jae) said he'd be happy with a .380 on-base percentage, but personally, I'd like to get it up to .400," Hwang said of the mark surpassed by only 10 players in the KBO last year. "Given the talent of the guys hitting behind me, I think we'll score a bunch of runs if I can get on base more often.

Hwang may not face much in the way of internal competition for the leadoff job, not that he'd be worried.

"No matter who challenges me for this role, I am confident I can beat him," Hwang said. "I've put in a ton of work, and I am confident I can put up big numbers." (Yonhap)