Hanwha Eagles' Ahn Chi-hong has been silent in the Futures League exhibition match for two consecutive games. His batting form does not seem to be improving.

Ahn Chi-hong started as the designated hitter in the exhibition game against the SoftBank 3rd team of Nippon Professional Baseball on the 24th at Seosan Baseball Stadium, recording no hits in four at-bats.

He struck out swinging as the leadoff batter in the bottom of the first inning. Hanwha ended its offense with a three-up, three-down inning. In the third inning, with two outs and no runners on base, he was out on a fly ball to left field in his second at-bat after a full count.

In the sixth inning, leadoff batter Choi Jun-seo reached base with a single to center, giving Ahn Chi-hong an opportunity to bat with no outs and a runner on first base. Ahn Chi-hong batted at a 3-ball, 1-strike count but was out on a pop-up to the third baseman.

The eighth inning presented a better chance, as Hanwha found itself in scoring position on first and second base after consecutive hits by Lee Ji-seong and Choi Jun-seo with one out. The ball he hit with two balls on the count resulted in a fly out to left field. The following batter, Bae Seung-soo, struck out swinging on the ninth pitch, losing the scoring opportunity.

Hanwha lost 0-5. Starting pitcher Bae Min-seo took the loss after giving up four hits (including one home run) with five strikeouts and three earned runs in four innings. Yoon Dae-kyung pitched one inning without allowing a run, Kim Seung-il recorded one earned run in two innings, and Bae Dong-hyun allowed one earned run in two innings.

Ahn Chi-hong was also designated as the starting designated hitter in the exhibition match against the SoftBank 3rd team on the previous day (23rd), recording no hits in three at-bats with two walks and two runs scored. He was out all three times, with two of them being pop-ups to the infield. He has been silent with no hits in his last seven at-bats over two games.

Before the 2024 season, Ahn Chi-hong signed a free agent contract with Hanwha for four years plus two years with a total amount of 7.2 billion won after leaving the Lotte Giants. In his first season, he played 128 games in 2024, recording a batting average of .300 (142 hits in 473 at-bats), 13 home runs, 66 RBIs, and an OPS of .797. After manager Kim Kyung-moon took over during the season, he was once again utilized at second base.

However, after a sluggish start with a batting average of .067 (2 hits in 30 at-bats) over the first 10 games of the season, he was sent down to the second team in early April. He reestablished his batting form in the Futures League and returned to the first team. In three Futures League games in mid-April, he recorded a batting average of .455 (5 hits in 11 at-bats) and one home run before making his comeback to the first team.

However, after his return, he struggled with a batting average of .095 (2 hits in 21 at-bats) over six games and developed wrist pain due to lingering injuries. Ahn Chi-hong was excluded from the first team roster again on the 6th. He was placed on the injured list on the 15th, and once the injured list period ended, he has been registered in the second team since the 21st.

Ahn Chi-hong, who recovered from his wrist injury, began participating in exhibition games, but it appears he is still not in full condition. His first team record shows a batting average of .098 (5 hits in 51 at-bats) with 5 RBIs and an OPS of .277.

[OSEN]