I expected it to be different this year. Even the owner of the team encouraged the fall baseball. However, Lotte Giants’ challenge in 2023 was thwarted again this year. Lotte Giants lost 0-7 against the LG Twins in Jamsil on the 10th, ultimately failing to advance to the postseason.
The dream was big. Before the season, the club’s leadership and former coach Larry Sutton suggested the goal of ‘going into the Korean Series’. This is something Lotte has never done in the 21st century. He last advanced to the Korean Series in 1999 and won in 1992. Even Lee Dae-ho, who joined the team in 2001, left the team without achieving it. 안전놀이터 추천
Inside the club, some said, “We need to set a high goal to achieve even fall baseball.” Lotte, which advanced to the postseason for five consecutive years at the time of the “Royster system (former manager Yang Seung-ho), succeeded only once in the next 11 years (2017).
Owner Shin Dong-bin personally visited Lee Dae-ho’s retirement ceremony in the final game of last season and presented his “permanent number.” It was an act that meant more than words. Shin Dong-bin, owner of Lee Dae-ho’s retirement ceremony. Sports Chosun DB. Owner Shin Dong-bin and Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon visited Sajik Stadium in June. Sports Chosun DB
After the season, large-scale investments were made, including a paid-in capital increase of 19 billion won. Lotte invested a total of 17 billion won in recruiting Yoo Kang-nam, Noh Jin-hyuk, and Han Hyun-hee for FA. It was the recruitment of FA after persevering without rushing despite three years of sluggishness since Ahn Chi-hong in 2020. He also signed an extension contract of up to 9 billion won for five years with ‘Glasses Ace’ Park Se-woong. Among the released players, real veterans such as Kim Sang-soo, Ahn Kwon-soo, Yoon Myung-joon and Shin Jung-rak wore Lotte uniforms one after another.
As a result, he finished April in first place with 14 wins and 8 losses. He has won nine consecutive games before the match against KIA on May 2. It was the first feat in 5,358 days (about 14 years and 8 months) since 2008. Until June, LG and SSG were in the third round. Owner Shin Dong-bin visited Sajik Stadium once more to encourage the team.
However, from this point on, the typical trend of “a team that can’t” began. There were a number of injuries, and in June, the coaches of the 1st and 2nd divisions were reorganized due to internal discord of the coaches. He collapsed sharply amid repeated pitching and batting imbalances, and at the end of the first half, his performance was fifth with 38 wins and 39 losses. He couldn’t even keep his winning percentage of 50%.
The KIA-Lotte match was held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 11th. Lotte Sutton, who won 7-1, smiles.
Foreign players were replaced during the All-Star break. Wilkerson, the new foreign, played the ace, but Goodrum was a fiasco. At the end of the season, he also broke up with former coach Sutton. The number of injuries began to increase even under the acting manager Lee Jong-un, who had last stepped up to the fall baseball season, and eventually filled up the transaction number.
Young blood such as Na Kyun-an, Yoon Dong-hee and Kim Min-seok have become the central axis of pitching and hitting, and it is comforting that Park Se-woong, Na Kyun-an and Yoon Dong-hee won the gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games to reveal the team’s future. The potential of promising players who have collected so far, including Lee Min-seok who is rehabilitating, Choi Joon-yong, Jin Seung-hyun, Kim Jin-wook, and Son Sung-bin, is also great. There are also expectations for the revival of Ko Seung-min and Han Dong-hee next season.
Lotte’s Yoon Dong-hee, with two outs and runners on first and third bases in the top of the fourth inning of the game between Lotte and LG at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 9th, is stepping down as a center fielder fly.
However, as a result, Sung Min-gyu’s four-year report card, which left the buzzword “process,” ranked 7-8-8-7th. It is the sixth consecutive year that he has failed in the fall baseball. Lotte is the oldest team that has experienced the postseason among the 10 KBO League teams. Since the match against KIA in Gwangju on July 28, he has never moved up to the top five. It is no different from the dark days of “password 8888577.”
The backlash of large-scale investment is the growing responsibility theory inside and outside the club. The appointment of a new coach is key. Names such as baseball commentators, former coaches of other teams, and leaders from Lotte are being mentioned.
