The leadership of KIA's shock defeat chose 'belief' over encouragement

Aug 01, 2024

A game between the LG Twins and the KIA Tigers at Jamsil Stadium on the 9th. KIA manager Lee Bum-ho is watching the game. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2024.07.09/

"I think there are a lot of things to think about."

The KIA Tigers lost 6 to 30 at home against the Doosan Bears at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 31st of last month.

Thirty runs is the most in KBO league history. In addition, the difference of 24 points is the loss by the most points in the KBO League.

Pitchers collapsed one after another. KIA had Kim Ki-hoon (three runs in two ⅓ innings), Kwak Do-kyu (one scoreless inning), Choi Ji-min (five runs in one inning), Lee Joon-young (four runs in zero innings), Kim Hyun-soo (seven runs in ⅔ innings), Kim Dae-yu (five runs in one ⅓), Jang Hyun-sik (one scoreless inning), and Park Jung-woo (one scoreless inning) in one inning, while starting pitcher Kim Do-hyun (one scoreless inning).

Coach Lee entered the interview room with a mournful look ahead of the match on the 1st. Manager Lee "I've been playing a lot of difficult games these days. I think I have a lot of things to think about"The starter has to hold out, but I think there are a lot of things that go down early. From April to May, there was a situation in which pitchers were replaced in the second to third innings. There seem to be times when it's getting hard, the weather is hot and the number of games is high. There was a part where the starting pitcher could not play a long inning, so he exhausted the middle pitcher. I'm concerned that the defense time is getting longer and I'm getting tired little by little in many ways."

photo courtesy of Doosan Bears

He was dubbed the "Greatest Defeat ever" but Lee didn't tell the players. I wanted the players to believe in themselves and wake up. Manager Lee said, `The past game is the past game. I'm sorry that I was disappointed in KIA fans for the 30-run game"However, I do not intend to settle the atmosphere of the team. The player is going to throw up his anger"I don't think it's going to be very helpful for tired players to talk about it now. I don't think it would make much sense to say let's do well in this situation. You must have felt a lot during the game. It's going well, but I felt that if I let my guard down, I can give up the game. It won't help if you get caught in a good atmosphere in the past, so I'll be able to play in a good mood."

Meanwhile, KIA made the starting lineup in the order of Choi Won-jun (right wing), Hong Jong-pyo (second baseman), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Socrates Brito (left wing), Na Sung-beom (designated hitter), Byun Woo-hyuk (first baseman), Park Chan-ho (striker), Kim Tae-gun (catcher), and Park Jung-woo (middle fielder).

Director Lee said, "(Choi) Hyung-woo looked tired and not in good condition. And a chance to go out to bat a lot?? I think my condition itself is down due to the build-up of fatigue due to a lot of solutions. Today, Doosan starter Balazovic tends to throw sharply. I think young players will go out and show good performances. In the meantime, if Nail starts, she has been struggling with mistakes. With the focus on the defense, Jungwoo was sent out" he said.

bellstop@sportschosun.com

The leadership of KIA's shock defeat chose 'belief' over encouragement

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