Refer Report
KIA ends regular season with highest number of wins since founding and highest winning percentage since 1993
“Inside/outfield distribution problem… Entry decision based on injury preparedness and 4th starter selection.”
Kkot Beom-ho “Now it’s time to take care of my condition” Professional baseball KIA coach Beom-ho Lee (front left) is giving a high-five to the players after finishing the last regular season game against NC on the 30th of last month. Provided by KIA Tigers
KIA also finished the regular season. They finished the regular season with 87 wins, 2 draws, and 55 losses, the same number of wins as in 2017 (87 wins, 1 draw, and 56 losses), the team’s highest win since its founding, and the team’s highest winning percentage (0.613) since 1993 (0.655).
Now we begin preparations for the Korean Series. After a short break until the 3rd, the players will gather again at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 4th. Practice games will be held on September 14th and 16th. Camp training will begin on the 14th, about a week before the first game.
KIA coach Lee Beom-ho’s worries also begin. For KIA, which has a clear starting position, the top concerns are who to select as infield backup and how to distribute infield and outfield backup.
Manager Beom-ho Lee said, “I’m worried about the infielder. “If Kim Sun-bin is replaced late in the game as a second base resource, we need an infielder who can defend for 1-2 innings,” he said. Seo Geon-chang and Byun Woo-hyuk, who also play first base along with Lee Woo-sung, are likely to be decided among Kim Gyu-seong and Hong Jong-pyo, who previously played as infield backups, and Yoon Do-hyun and Choi Jeong-yong, who joined after the championship was confirmed.
Since there were so many injuries this season, we are preparing for injuries that may occur during the short Korean Series. Manager Beom-ho Lee said, “We need to decide whether to leave one more spot in the outfield or one more spot in the infield as a replacement player in case someone gets injured during the Korean Series. So, I’m currently thinking about 2-3 entry positions.”
Pitcher entry concerns are different. In the Korean Series, there are usually about 13 to 14 pitchers. In the case of KIA, it is clear that the middle-level pitching team will be strong, but the starting four players have not been clearly decided. James Nail, who is preparing to return after rehabilitation, joins and takes over the three starting positions along with Hyun-jong Yang and Eric Lauer, while Young-cheol Yoon, Dong-ha Hwang, and Do-hyun Kim compete for the fourth starting position. If one of them pitches as a starter, the other two can play a ‘+1’ or long relief role behind him. It is expected that the decision on which style of pitcher to enter will be determined only after checking the progress of Nail and Yoon Young-cheol’s training after training begins.
Manager Beom-ho Lee said, “Pitchers have limited spots, but there are many pitchers who pitch well. I’m not at the stage where I’m thinking about it that meaningfully yet, but I think whether there will be 13 or 14 players will be decided depending on who will be appointed as the (4) starter. “I’m thinking that if there are 2 or 3 pitchers who can throw long, we should go to 13, and if there are only 1 or 2 pitchers, we should go to 14,” he explained.
Nail plans to do live pitching on the 4th, the start day of training for the Korean Series, and then pitch in practice on the 9th, the first practice game.
Director Beom-ho Lee hinted at the pressure of the Korean series, saying, “There are quite a few days left until the Korean series, but since we set the schedule by date, it feels like it starts the day after tomorrow.”
Coach Beom-ho Lee said, “The most important thing is to be able to start the first game in good condition.” As the break is long, the most important goal is to prepare both pitchers and batters to start the Korean Series in optimal condition.
Source: Korean