“Excited? It was just one day. I was busy greeting and holding various events from the next day. I’m sure you’re happy even if it’s this hard to win.”헤라카지노
When the LG Twins won the Korean Series for the first time in 29 years since 1994, Cha Myeong-seok (54), the team’s general manager, shed more tears than anyone else. Cha contributed to LG’s second career win as a bullpen pitcher in 1994, and led LG to its third win 29 years later as a general manager this year. After LG ranked eighth in 2018, Cha was appointed as the team’s general manager and announced a “five-year operation plan” aimed at winning the title in front of then LG Group’s new chairman, Koo Kwang-mo, and as if lying, he won the title in just five years. Cha is an eloquent speaker. During the off-season, he gives lectures to companies, and more people are asked to recruit him this year. The theme is either strengthening the organization or creating an organization that everyone wants to join.
Cha said, “It seems ideal from the perspective of companies that our team did not recruit FA players with a lot of money, but created something one by one over the past five years.” LG has been on the fall baseball stage for five consecutive years under Cha, and for the first three years, it focused on cultivating internal prospects without recruiting outside FA players, and brought in Park Hae-min and Park Dong-won to solve the championship puzzle in 2022 and this year.
“When I joined the team for the first time, I felt cold 冷 because I added a bit of lies. The same department doesn’t talk to each other, and no one gives their opinions during meetings and just keeps silent. They gathered all together and said, ‘It’s my responsibility if it goes wrong while working, but if it goes wrong because it doesn’t work, you guys have to take responsibility.’ I didn’t talk about work at all while working with the team leaders for the first time all month, and then the team leaders asked me what I thought about our team a few times first. Since then, we have been talking to each other honestly and have begun the team reorganization.”
Cha was the first to set up an event where coaches from the second tier team explain how they train once a month. He believed that in order to nurture players properly, coaches must first develop their skills. The team leaders, who need deep expertise in baseball, have been excluded from the rotation of teams by talking to high-ranking officials in the team. Roh Seok-ki, the current team leader of the team’s power analysis team who was in the second tier at the time, has been in charge of analyzing the team’s capabilities in one place for five years so far.
Cha also thanked the coaches who he had been with. “The leader and the coach should communicate the most. Especially, a player-turned-leader should not touch the coach’s authority. It could be misunderstood as someone who takes over his position. He should think that he should lose money. And there will be no misunderstanding if he tells the team situation as it is and tries to help as much as possible. We can work together only when we trust each other.”
Cha pointed out 2022 as the most challenging period when the team failed to advance to the Korean Series even after ranking second in the regular season. At that time, the team was overwhelmed by Kiwoom at the playoff. Ultimately, Ryu Ji-hyun, who ranked second, had to put down his baton.
“Honestly, I thought I would win last year. I had the best performance in all analytical indicators. There was only one behind SSG and it was luck (運). I wasn’t afraid to quit my job as a general manager and go home, but I was desperate to have something in my team.”
Cha said he expected some victory in the regular season this year through self-analysis before the season. As KT, which was evaluated as the biggest competitor to win the title, slumped to the bottom in the initial stage, he was able to stage the race relatively easily. Although LG’s key pitchers suffered injuries and sluggishness during the season, it overcame the crisis through a trade with Choi Won-tae.
“There was a lot of internal opposition when I gave up the first nomination of promising players and rookies and brought in Choi Won-tae from Kiwoom. It is true that Choi fell short of expectations later on. However, I think the trade stimulated other pitchers and resulted in the best results, which ultimately led to the championship.”
Cha was evaluated as having an insight into training players as a coach. He gained popularity as a commentator due to his eloquence and expertise. However, Cha said that the position is more attractive than a coach or commentator. “Players’ value increases on their own when they are good at it. A commentator has a lot to study, allowing them to grow on their own. On the other hand, Cha is a person who works for the team rather than himself. He is like an architect who builds up an organization one by one. Of course, there is no day without worries. If you do well, you are good at it, and if you don’t do well, you are worried if you don’t. Until now, I have not taken a single day off.”