The “Tiger Corps” KIA Tigers are now aiming for their 12th Korean Series championship.
KIA, led by head coach Lee Bum-ho, lost 0-2 to manager Lee Sung-yong’s SSG Landers in an away game of the 2024 professional baseball KBO League regular season at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 17th.
On the same day, Kia confirmed its regular league victory as the second-ranked Samsung Lions lost to the Doosan Bears 4-8 in the game held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. This was because the remaining magic number automatically disappeared. KIA’s regular league victory was the seventh in seven years (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2009 and 2017) since 2017.
The achievement is all the more valuable because it was achieved through overcoming countless crises that came. KIA faced the sad news in a row this year, but did not falter and finally made a valuable report card of winning the regular season league.먹튀검증
Bad news came even before the season opened. Former coach Kim Jong-kook suddenly quit the team after being investigated by the prosecution for his alleged misconduct ahead of the Australian spring camp in February this year. It was the second consecutive year of bad news following the resignation of former general manager Jang Jeong-seok due to similar misconduct just three days before the opening of the regular season league last year.
Fortunately, Kia quickly picked up the mood. As a new coach, Lee Bum-ho, showed his leadership, the team was able to unite as a result.
News of the injury continued, but KIA did not collapse. Will Crow, Lee Eui-ri (elbow pain), and Yoon Young-chul (spine fatigue fracture) left the starting lineup, but Hwang Dong-ha and Kim Do-hyun minimized the gap. In the bullpen, closer Jung Hae-young left for a while due to shoulder inflammation in late June, but Jeon Sang-hyun and Choi Ji-min played better than expected.
Since then, KIA has faced the crisis of ace James Nail being knocked down by Matt Davidson’s hit on the chin against the Changwon NC Dinos on August 24, but rather, he has faced the first place with an impressive 11 wins and 4 losses.
The batting performance of the team’s batters was also the driving force behind the team’s injury. KIA’s team batting average (0.301), on-base plus slugging percentage (0.832), and RBI (778 points) are all ranked first among the 10 teams.
In particular, Kim Do-young showed remarkable performance. Having recorded 10 homers and 10 steals per month for the first time in the KBO league in April, he maintained his momentum and played a leading role in KIA’s offense. His current performance is 0.344 (178 hits in 517 at-bats) with a batting average of 37 homers, 105 RBIs, 134 runs and 39 steals, and OPS 1.063. Now, he is aiming for his second career 40 homers and 40 steals in the KBO league after Eric Thames (NC), who had 47 homers and 40 steals in the 2015 season.
KIA is now facing the championship of the regular league after a turbulent season. Their eyes are now on the Korean Series. Notably, the Tigers have advanced to the Korean Series 11 times, boasting a tradition that they have never missed a championship.
“I will spend the remaining time in the regular league with the players and prepare well for the Korean Series. I have no burden (regarding winning all 11 titles). I trust our players. Of course, if I advance to the league, I will win. If I fail to achieve it, I will agonize over the Korean Series with the players for the rest of the time,” Lee said. “I will look back on the atmosphere and how to break through when a difficult situation arises, and ask for advice from many players who played the series. There is about a month left until the Korean Series, but there are many things to do. I will keep thinking about how to win and four games. I will create a good atmosphere with the players and win again even if I go up to the 12th round. I will prepare with that belief,” Lee said.
“This is the second time that I am preparing for the Korean Series,” Na Sung-bum, the captain of the team, said. “I was waiting for the regular season title in 2020 (when I won the combined championship as an NC player). I may be nervous, but as a senior member of the team, I will not try to show as much as I can,” he said. “I have to prepare well. I don’t know which team will come up, so I will keep an eye on the wild card game, semi-playoff and playoff every day and prepare for it by conducting training sessions at the same time.”
Left-hander ace Yang Hyeon-jong, who experienced wins in 2009 and 2017, also said, “I always feel pressure whenever I play in the Korean Series. Former Tigers seniors showed performances that were burdensome, not burdensome, to win the championship unconditionally. If I think about it differently, I think that all the energy will come to us,” he said. “When I won in 2009 and 2017, coaches always won the championship. They assured me that they will win anyway. They gave me good energy.” The same goes for this year. I think they will give me good energy because they have coaches who won the championship. I will work hard with the goal of winning the championship.”