“The pitchers are better than expected.”

 

On the 20th, the Lotte Giants officially appointed ‘Master General’ Manager Tae-hyung Kim as the 21st head coach. The contract size is 3 years and a total of 2.4 billion won (down payment of 600 million won, annual salary of 600 million won). After holding the inauguration ceremony on the 24th, coach Kim Tae-hyung began his work as Lotte's head coach in earnest, starting with a meeting with the first and second team players on the 25th.

 

Lotte created a sensation early this season. At the end of the May schedule, they maintained their top ranking and made strides toward their dream of advancing to the postseason. However, as injuries started pouring in in June, performance began to decline uncontrollably. Lotte attempted to rebound by replacing foreigners, but coach Larry Sutton was unable to complete the season and left the team, ultimately ending the season in 7th place.

 

After the regular season schedule ended, the biggest challenge surrounding Lotte was the appointment of a new head coach. It was the most important task to resolve the chaotic atmosphere caused by the loss of the commander. Lotte began looking for a new head coach last August, and appointed coach Kim Tae-hyung, a 'master' who led the Doosan Bears to the Korean Series (KS) for seven consecutive years, and the rumored 'Lotte Tae-hyung' became a reality.

 

Coach Kim Tae-hyung, who took the helm of Lotte, said to the 1st and 2nd team players on the 25th, "This year was a disappointing year for the team. You have to become stronger to win. To beat your opponent, your skills must be better than your opponent. To do that, each player must do their best." “You have to make this constant effort. I hope you will put in the effort yourself,” he said. “From the outside, I saw that the Lotte players were passionate and could do it, but they just couldn’t get over the turning point. I won’t go into a long story. I hope they do it with confidence, and next year. He delivered the message, “Let’s produce good results.”

 

The head coach continued, "All coaches will say the same thing about doing your best on the pitch. However, I tend to be strong when it comes to personal feelings and personal actions, but the players will have no reason to do that, and they will know it well even if I don't talk about it." "Usually, rookie players only have the thought that they will do a little better next year than they did now, but I would like to tell them that they should never make the mistake of thinking, 'I will do better than this year.' In baseball, you have to build your body by throwing and hitting the ball. “He said emphatically.

 

Manager Taehyung Kim greeted the players and ordered 'bullpen pitching' for the pitchers. How did it feel to watch him train on the first day? Before training on the 2nd day of the final camp at Sangdong Stadium in Gimhae on the 26th, the head coach said, "I have coached for the past 8 years and took a year off, and I feel connected. I feel like I am wearing the same uniform and directing. It's just that the team “It feels like something has changed,” he said, laughing, adding, “Most of the players are ones I haven’t seen before, but starting next week, when the existing (starting) players join, we will start training in earnest.”

 

Although it was really short, there were some players who stood out during the training process. They are Lee Jin-ha, who was selected 13th overall in the second round of the 2023 Rookie Draft, and Hong Min-ki, who was selected 4th overall in the second first round of the 2020 Rookie Draft. Lee Jin-ha appeared in 9 games this year and went 8 innings, leaving an ERA of 3.38 and potential. On the other hand, Hong Min-ki is a promising prospect who had high expectations, as can be seen from the nomination order, but he is Lotte's 'sore finger' who has not yet seen the light of day.

 

Coach Kim Tae-hyung hasn't completely learned the names of the players yet, but he said, "There are a lot of players with good velocity overall. Lee Jin-ha's pitch is good. And left-handed pitcher Hong Min-ki's pitch is about 150 km," he said, sticking his tongue out, "First of all, players with fast balls." “There are a lot of them. In order to run a game, you need ball control, but if fast pitchers can control the ball, their chances of success are higher.” Although it was short, it was clear that it left a strong impression.

 

However, among the fielders, there were not many players who looked like 'big guns'. Manager Kim Tae-hyung said, "The pitchers look much better than expected. However, there don't seem to be any fielders with large physiques. I don't seem to see many strong hitters who can hit long balls. I see a few players, but there are no players who are significantly bigger." evaluated.

 

 

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This season's two best foreign pitchers meet in the first round of the playoffs.

 

NC Dinos Eric Peddy, the first foreign pitcher to achieve the Triple Crown, and William Cuevas, the winning percentage leader with 12 wins, no losses, and a 100% winning percentage, will face off as starters in the first round of the playoffs to be held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 30th.

 

With 20 wins, 6 losses, an ERA of 2.00, and 209 strikeouts, Peddie won three awards as a pitcher, including most wins, ERA, and strikeouts. The record of 20 wins and 200 strikeouts is only the 5th in history, and it has been 37 years since Seon Dong-yeol in 1986.

 

In history, there were only 4 cases in the KBO League where 20 wins and 200 strikeouts were achieved simultaneously, and all of them were in the 1980s. It can be said that Peddie performed unrivaled this year.

 

Such a Peddie failed to pitch in the wild card game and semi-playoffs. On the 16th, against the KIA Tigers, he was hit on the right forearm by Ko Jong-wook's batted ball, and the aftermath made it difficult for him to pitch. Peddy pitched bullpen for the first time since his injury at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 22nd, when the first game of the semi-PO was held. NC coach Kang In-kwon announced Peddy as the starter for Game 3 ahead of Game 2 on the 23rd, but Peddy was uncomfortable after the second game. Ham expressed anxiety and went to the hospital for a checkup, and changed the starting pitcher for the third game to Tanner.

 

Peddy was prepared for the 4th game, but NC defeated SSG with 3 consecutive wins and confirmed advancement to the playoffs. Peddie was able to take four more days of rest and play in the first round of the playoffs.

 

Peddie pitched in 3 games against KT and recorded 1 win, 2 losses, and an average ERA of 2.65. His first meeting was held on April 13 at Changwon Gyeonggi, where he allowed 6 hits and 3 runs (1 earned) in 6 innings, but became the losing pitcher as the team lost 3 to 10.

 

On May 9, in Suwon, he gave up 7 hits (2 home runs) and 3 runs in 6 innings, but became the winning pitcher in a 16-4 victory. On August 13, in Suwon, he allowed 6 hits (1 home runs) and 3 runs (1 home run) in 5 innings. He committed self-incrimination and lost 0-4, becoming the losing pitcher. He hit two home runs, one by Kang Baek-ho and the other by Alford.

 

When Peddy was expected, KT coach Lee Kang-cheol was asked about the starting team for the first game, and he said, "We will go in order regardless of whether Peddy appears or who else appears." This means that Cuevas will appear as the starter in the first game.

 

Cuevas is the ace among aces that Coach Lee, the coaching staff, and the players all trust.

 

He is a 'winning pitcher' who started in 2021 and took two days off before appearing in the first-place game against the Samsung Lions and leading the team to the regular season championship with 7 scoreless innings.

 

He was sidelined last year due to an elbow injury, but came back as a substitute this season and ranked first in winning percentage with 12 wins, no losses, and a 100% win rate, lifting the team to second place. His earned run average was also very good at 2.60.

 

In the 18 games he appeared in, KT recorded 14 wins and 4 losses. They only lost 3 games against LG and 1 game against SSG.

 

He appeared in only one game against NC. On June 30th, he led the Suwon game to a 3-2 victory with 5 hits and 2 runs in 6 innings.

 

His overall performance against NC was good, with 4 wins and 3 losses and an average ERA of 3.38 in 11 games.

 

Cuevas pitched well in his postseason as well. In Game 3 of the playoffs against Doosan in 2020, he started and became the winning pitcher with 3 hits and 1 run in 8 innings, and in Game 1 of the Korean Series against Doosan in 2021, he became the winning pitcher with 7 hits, 8 strikeouts, and 1 run over 7⅔ innings.

 

This year's two best foreign pitchers meet for the first time in the most important game. In the single-season playoffs since 1989, the probability of the team winning the first game advancing to the Korean Series is 78.1% (25 out of 32).

 

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