You were very interested... Whether it's the weight of KIA's first round, why is Lee Bum-ho the strongest batting order yet
Feb 19, 2025
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KIA Tigers manager Lee Bum-ho returned home to Incheon International Airport on the 19th and continued to think about how to organize the lineup this season. Lee and other KIA teams left for Irvine, USA, on the 22nd and 23rd of last month, held the first spring camp until the 18th, and returned home on the same day.
KIA won the integrated championship last year, marking the 12th star in the club's history. This year, it is expected to build a new dynasty as it is evaluated as the first place again. Coach Lee aims to win for the second consecutive year and is striving to have the strongest power in the league in both pitching and hitting.
Last season, KIA was the only team with a batting average of over .300 (0.301) and boasted the strongest firepower in the league. Team OPS was also overwhelmingly No. 1 with 0.828, and team home runs were No. 3 with 163.
KIA was not satisfied here and went out to find a foreign hitter who could strengthen its slugging power a little more. Existing foreign batter Socrates Brito was expected to be able to renew his contract last year with a batting average of 0.310 (171 hits in 552 at-bats), 26 home runs and 97 RBIs, but KIA recruited Patrick Wisdom, who boasts 88 home runs in the Major League, under the judgment that more right-handed hitters were needed. Wisdom is said to have the power to overcome 30 home runs in the season if it quickly adapts to the KBO league.
Shortstop Park Chan-ho and center fielder Choi Won-joon, who are preliminary FA this year, are listed as candidates for the table setters. Second baseman Kim Sun-bin, the MVP of last year's Korean Series, is also struggling with the top lineup. Last year's MVP Kim Do-young, big guns Na Sung-bum, Choi Hyung-woo, and Wisdom are in the center lineup. The lower lineup is expected to include catcher Kim Tae-gun or Han Jun-su and an outfielder to replace Socrates' vacancy.
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Manager Lee said, `I think we need to play the game. A lot of people seem to be very interested in how we're going to make our lineup. No matter how you plan it, you have to be strong, and no matter how you put Kim Do-young in any position, the team has to be the first to be strong. I think we should put our heads together with the power analysis team or batting coaches and start the pennant race."
Before starting Irvine's spring camp, coach Lee nailed "3rd hitter Kim Do-young." However, if the condition of the table setter candidates does not rise as expected, there is room for change in Kim Do-young's batting order.
Coach Lee said, "(Kim) Do-young is right to use No. 3 if players No. 1 and No. 2 are in good condition. As we move toward the center, we are likely to form the opening lineup depending on which players are in good condition. It's very difficult to make one batting line and do that batting line all year round. We will try to decide how Wisdom and Doyoung will deploy batting order, and (B) Sung-beom and (Choi) Hyung-woo will do it again step by step while playing exhibition games before starting the pennant race."
The KIA team will depart for Okinawa on the 20th. He will start training again on the 21st and play a total of five games starting with a practice game against the Hiroshima Toyokaf of the Japanese professional baseball league on the 22nd.
Manager Lee said, `The first camp was prepared to move on to the second camp without injury as much as possible. It seems that there were no injured players because they practiced at a time when the players had prepared so well. It seemed that the players felt a lot that the responsibility they had left to them was very important. I think the players are more mature than last year, so I'm looking forward to this season," he said, stressing that he would continue the good atmosphere in Okinawa.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
