Director Lee Kang-chul, who made the history of the KBO's first upset, `The atmosphere has risen because I didn't even think of semi-PO"
Oct 03, 2024
|
KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-chul has written a new history in the KBO League.
KT made the first-ever fifth-place team upset by winning 1-0 in Game 2 of the wild card game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium on the 3rd and sweeping both Game 1 and Game 2.
Following Cuevas in the first game, Benjamin in the second game showed brilliant pitching. Benjamin set the stage for victory with seven scoreless innings of fantastic pitching. Kang Baek-ho, who is being used as the fourth player, lived up to Lee's belief by hitting the final hit in the top of the sixth inning.
KT, which has overcome the fifth-place tiebreaker against SSG Landers and wild-card death against Doosan, will now play a semi-playoff against the LG Twins, who were opponents of the Korean Series last season.
As for the first-ever upset, coach Lee said, `I think we named our team (Wiz, Wizards) amazingly well. I didn't talk about it before the game because I was worried that it would get caught, but I felt something was being made with a come-from-behind victory from the end of the season. It occurred to me that we were trying to make a history of 'the first'. I thought it would be a 1-0 win game in the 7th episode" expressed his feelings.
Lee said of starting Benjamin "It was Benjamin when it was good. I think I was stimulated by Cuevas' good pitching. It was so bad at the end of the regular season, I didn't know I would throw this well. Are you protesting to renew your contract.(Laughs) It must be hard physically, but you worked so hard for the team," he said with a thumbs up.
As for Kang Baek-ho, the main character of the final hit, "How nice would it have been to hold the bat short like this?" From the first game, he tried to make contact with responsibility. It seems like this is how Team KT becomes. And in the second game, catcher Jang Sung-woo was so good at ball mixing. I wanted to say this without forgetting" he said.
Regarding the upcoming match against LG, Lee said, `First of all, I will think about the starting rotation from now on. I didn't think about it until the semi-playoff. It was difficult because it was a game where I lost until today, but now I'm going to think about it because it's the best-of-five game. You can't overdo the players. I'm also thinking of a starting card for Joey-hyun in the first round. Looking at it today, I don't think there are any physical problems with the players. I don't think I feel tired because the atmosphere is coming up."
awesome@sportschosun.com
