# Hanwha Eagles

The Hanwha Eagles (Korean: 한화 이글스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon that competes in the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. They have won the Korean Series once, in 1999, and the league pennant twice. As of 2024, the Eagles have played in the postseason 13 times, being the runner-up in the Korean Series five times.

## History

Founded in 1985 as the Binggrae Eagles (Binggrae was the then-trademark of Hanwha's confectionery branch), they debuted in 1986 as the seventh franchise of the league. Japanese-born pitcher Jang Myeong-bu went 1–18 with a 4.98 ERA in the 1986 season. The team went 31–76 overall in 1986, and Jang retired after the season.
The Eagles made it to the Korean Series four times in their first seven years of existence (in 1988, 1989, 1991, and 1992), losing each time. In 1993, the club changed its name to Hanwha Eagles after Binggrae's separation from Hanwha conglomerate.
Pitchers Song Jin-woo and Jung Min-cheul were the team's one-two punch through the 1990s and much of the 2000s. Song played for the team for 21 seasons, between 1989 and 2009. He currently holds several KBO pitching records, including his 210 wins, 2,048 strikeouts, and 3,003 innings pitched. He is the only pitcher in KBO League history to win 200 games, and the only one to strike out 2,000 or more batters. Jung, for his part, played 16 seasons for the Eagles (1992–1999 and 2002–2009). He won at least ten games for the team for eight straight seasons, from 1992 through 1999.
The club was renowned for its slugging percentage from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, nicknamed the "Dynamite Bats" in reference to explosive products under one of Hanwha's main business lines. The 1999 championship team was led by American imports Dan Rohrmeier and Jay Davis, as well as Koreans Song Ji-man and Chang Jong-hoon, and had a slugging percentage of .487, the highest team total in KBO League history.
The Eagles made it back to the Korean Series in 2006, again falling short. The Eagles did not make the KBO playoffs for eleven years, from 2008 through 2017, despite going through five managers during that time, including the KBO's two winningest managers, Kim Eung-ryong (2013–2014) and Kim Sung-keun (2015–2017).
Han Yong-duk was hired as Eagles' manager in 2018 (he had been a caretaker manager for the team in 2012), and in his first full season he succeeded in bringing the team to the postseason for the first time since 2007. On 7 June 2020, however, Han resigned as manager after a 14th straight loss, and was replaced by the team's minor league manager (and former television announcer), Choi Won-ho. The team also revamped its roster, sending ten players to the minor-league KBO Futures League team — including veterans An Young-myung, Jang Si-hwan, Lee Tae-yang, Song Kwang-min, and Lee Sung-yul — and bringing up nine players to the KBO League team. After tying the record for the KBO's longest losing streak at 18, on 14 June 2020, the Eagles escaped a 19th-straight defeat after a long struggle: Hanwha won a suspended game against Doosan Bears thanks to Roh Tae-hyung's walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning.
On 27 November 2020, Carlos Subero was announced as the Eagles' new manager.

## Logos and uniforms

Hanwha Eagles alternative logos (2025–present) :
| Alternative text logo, also used in the uniforms | Alternative logo, used on some cap hats, uniform details, and website | Alternative text logo, used on the website and "Eagles" used on the uniforms |

## Season-by-season records

| Season | League | Finish | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Post season | Awards |
| Season | League | Finish | Rank | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win% | BA | HR | ERA | Post season | Awards |
| Binggrae Eagles ||||||||||||||
| 1986 | KBO | 7/7 | 7/7 | 54 | 12 | 42 | 0 | .222 | .236 | 46 | 3.67 | Did not qualify | |
| 1986 | KBO | 7/7 | 6/7 | 54 | 19 | 34 | 1 | .358 | .236 | 46 | 3.67 | Did not qualify | |
| 1987 | KBO | 6/7 | 6/7 | 54 | 24 | 28 | 2 | .463 | .274 | 48 | 3.78 | Did not qualify | Lee Jong-hoon (ROTY) |
| 1987 | KBO | 6/7 | 5/7 | 54 | 23 | 29 | 2 | .444 | .274 | 48 | 3.78 | Did not qualify | Lee Jong-hoon (ROTY) |
| 1988 | KBO | 2/7 | 2/7 | 54 | 34 | 20 | 0 | .630 | .266 | 73 | 3.72 | Won playoff vs. Samsung Lions (3–0) Lost Korean Series vs. Haitai Tigers (2–4) | |
| 1988 | KBO | 2/7 | 3/7 | 54 | 28 | 25 | 1 | .528 | .266 | 73 | 3.72 | Won playoff vs. Samsung Lions (3–0) Lost Korean Series vs. Haitai Tigers (2–4) | |
| 1989 | KBO | 2/7 | 1/7 | 120 | 71 | 46 | 3 | .604 | .276 | 97 | 3.50 | Lost Korean Series vs. Haitai Tigers (1–4) | |
| 1990 | KBO | 4/7 | 3/7 | 120 | 68 | 50 | 2 | .575 | .270 | 112 | 3.41 | Lost semi-playoff vs. Samsung Lions (0–2) | |
| 1991 | KBO | 2/8 | 2/8 | 126 | 72 | 49 | 5 | .591 | .274 | 136 | 3.35 | Won playoff vs. Samsung Lions (3–1) Lost Korean Series vs. Haitai Tigers (0–4) | Chang Jong-hoon (MVP) |
| 1992 | KBO | 2/8 | 1/8 | 126 | 81 | 43 | 2 | .651 | .267 | 146 | 3.68 | Lost Korean Series vs. Lotte Giants (1–4) | Chang Jong-hoon (MVP) |
| 1993 | KBO | 5/8 | 5/8 | 126 | 61 | 61 | 4 | .500 | .238 | 81 | 3.46 | Did not qualify | |
| Hanwha Eagles ||||||||||||||
| 1994 | KBO | 3/8 | 3/8 | 126 | 65 | 59 | 2 | .524 | .247 | 68 | 3.52 | Won semi-playoff vs. Haitai Tigers (2–0) Lost playoff vs. Taepyongyang Dolphins (0–3) | |
| 1995 | KBO | 6/8 | 6/8 | 126 | 55 | 71 | 0 | .437 | .249 | 96 | 4.04 | Did not qualify | |
| 1996 | KBO | 4/8 | 3/8 | 126 | 70 | 55 | 1 | .560 | .245 | 90 | 3.79 | Lost semi-playoff vs. Hyundai Unicorns (0–2) | Koo Dae-sung (MVP) |
| 1997 | KBO | 7/8 | 7/8 | 126 | 51 | 73 | 2 | .413 | .253 | 102 | 4.06 | Did not qualify | |
| 1998 | KBO | 7/8 | 7/8 | 126 | 55 | 66 | 5 | .455 | .250 | 123 | 4.26 | Did not qualify | |
| 1999 | KBO Magic League | 1/8 | 2/4 | 132 | 72 | 58 | 2 | .554 | .283 | 197 | 4.88 | Won playoff vs. Doosan Bears (4–0) Won Korean Series vs. Lotte Giants (4–1) | |
| 2000 | KBO Magic League | 7/8 | 3/4 | 133 | 50 | 78 | 5 | .391 | .276 | 180 | 5.24 | Did not qualify | |
| 2001 | KBO | 4/8 | 4/8 | 133 | 61 | 68 | 4 | .473 | .275 | 148 | 4.85 | Lost semi-playoff vs. Doosan Bears (0–2) | Kim Tae-kyun (ROTY) |
| 2002 | KBO | 7/8 | 7/8 | 133 | 59 | 69 | 5 | .461 | .256 | 170 | 4.79 | Did not qualify | |
| 2003 | KBO | 5/8 | 5/8 | 133 | 63 | 65 | 5 | .492 | .254 | 121 | 4.38 | Did not qualify | |
| 2004 | KBO | 7/8 | 7/8 | 133 | 53 | 74 | 6 | .417 | .268 | 140 | 5.24 | Did not qualify | |
| 2005 | KBO | 4/8 | 4/8 | 126 | 64 | 61 | 1 | .512 | .270 | 159 | 4.41 | Won semi-playoff vs. SK Wyverns (3–2) Lost playoff vs. Doosan Bears (0–3) | |
| 2006 | KBO | 2/8 | 3/8 | 126 | 67 | 57 | 2 | .540 | .253 | 110 | 3.37 | Won semi-playoff vs. Kia Tigers (2–1) Won playoff vs. Hyundai Unicorns (3–1) Lost Korean Series vs. Samsung Lions (1–1–4) | Ryu Hyun-jin (ROTY) Ryu Hyun-jin (MVP) |
| 2007 | KBO | 3/8 | 3/8 | 126 | 67 | 57 | 2 | .540 | .254 | 104 | 3.54 | Won semi-playoff vs. Samsung Lions (2–1) Lost playoff vs. Doosan Bears (0–3) | |
| 2008 | KBO | 5/8 | 5/8 | 126 | 64 | 62 | 0 | .508 | .254 | 120 | 4.43 | Did not qualify | |
| 2009 | KBO | 8/8 | 8/8 | 133 | 46 | 84 | 3 | .354 | .269 | 164 | 5.71 | Did not qualify | |
| 2010 | KBO | 8/8 | 8/8 | 133 | 49 | 82 | 2 | .374 | .244 | 104 | 5.43 | Did not qualify | |
| 2011 | KBO | 6/8 | 6/8 | 133 | 59 | 72 | 2 | .450 | .255 | 93 | 5.11 | Did not qualify | |
| 2012 | KBO | 8/8 | 8/8 | 133 | 53 | 77 | 3 | .408 | .249 | 71 | 4.55 | Did not qualify | |
| 2013 | KBO | 9/9 | 9/9 | 128 | 42 | 85 | 1 | .331 | .259 | 47 | 5.31 | Did not qualify | |
| 2014 | KBO | 9/9 | 9/9 | 128 | 49 | 77 | 2 | .389 | .283 | 104 | 6.35 | Did not qualify | |
| 2015 | KBO | 6/10 | 6/10 | 144 | 68 | 76 | 0 | .472 | .271 | 130 | 5.11 | Did not qualify | |
| 2016 | KBO | 7/10 | 7/10 | 144 | 66 | 75 | 3 | .468 | .289 | 142 | 5.76 | Did not qualify | |
| 2017 | KBO | 8/10 | 8/10 | 144 | 61 | 81 | 2 | .430 | .287 | 150 | 5.28 | Did not qualify | |
| 2018 | KBO | 3/10 | 3/10 | 144 | 77 | 67 | 0 | .535 | .275 | 151 | 4.93 | Lost semi-playoff vs. Nexen Heroes (1–3) | |
| 2019 | KBO | 9/10 | 9/10 | 144 | 58 | 86 | 0 | .403 | .256 | 88 | 4.80 | Did not qualify | |
| 2020 | KBO | 10/10 | 10/10 | 144 | 46 | 95 | 3 | .326 | .245 | 79 | 5.28 | Did not qualify | |
| 2021 | KBO | 10/10 | 10/10 | 144 | 49 | 83 | 12 | .371 | .237 | 80 | 4.65 | Did not qualify | |
| 2022 | KBO | 10/10 | 10/10 | 144 | 46 | 96 | 2 | .324 | .245 | 88 | 4.83 | Did not qualify | |
| 2023 | KBO | 9/10 | 9/10 | 144 | 58 | 80 | 6 | .420 | .241 | 100 | 4.38 | Did not qualify | Moon Dong-ju (ROTY) |
| 2024 | KBO | 8/10 | 8/10 | 144 | 66 | 76 | 2 | .465 | .270 | 127 | 4.98 | Did not qualify | |

## Personnel
### Managers

* Bae Seong-seo (1986–1987)
* Kim Yeong-duk (1988–1992)
* Kang Byeong-cheol (1993–1998)
* Lee Hui-su (1998–2000)
* Lee Kwang-hwan (2001–2002)
* Yu Seung-an (2003–2004)
* Kim In-sik (2005–2009)
* Han Dae-hwa (2010–2012)
* Han Yong-duk (2012) (caretaker)
* Kim Eung-ryong (2013–2014)
* Kim Sung-keun (2015–2017)
* Lee Sang-gun (2017) (caretaker)
* Han Yong-duk (2018–2020)
* Choi Won-ho (2020) (caretaker)
* Carlos Subero (2020–2023)
* Choi Won-ho (2023–2024)
* Kim Kyung-moon (2024–present)

### Retired numbers

The Eagles have four retired numbers on their roster. Those are for the infielders Chang Jong-hoon (35) and Kim Tae-kyun (52), and the pitchers Jung Min-cheul (23) and Song Jin-woo (21).