A national hitter who chanted ‘Miracle’ at a fall baseball game was met with unexpectedly cold fan sentiment.
The backstory of the ‘national hitter’ felt a little lonely.
In front of the Doosan fans who experienced the ‘miracle’ of the Korean Series for the seventh consecutive year, Lee Seung-yeop was just a first-year ‘newbie commander’.
16th, Jamsil Stadium. It was the last home game of the regular season for the Doosan Bears.
The fall baseball season was over, but the fierce battle for the top spot continued until the end. Doosan lost to SSG Landers 2 to 3 on the same day and became fifth place regardless of the final game against Incheon on the 17th. Doosan will begin fall baseball on the 19th, starting with the first round of the wild card.
The process of the game was as disappointing as the outcome. Yang Ji and Heo Kyung-min, two of the team’s key players, were hit by balls during the game.
Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop’s expression was unusually somber when we met before the game. It was as if the loss to the LG Twins the day before had left a mark.
He said, “We played 142 games, and there are many things that were disappointing. There were immature points, and I was not good enough in terms of harmonization with the players and the process of solving the game. If I had been more focused, we would have been ranked higher than now,” he said, looking back on his first year in charge with regret.
“It’s my first year, so of course I’m lacking, and I’ve gained a lot of experience this year. First of all, I will do my best until the end of the season. I will try to be a better coach next year,” he added. To the players, he said, “Doosan is a miracle. I’m sure it’s engraved in the players’ hearts,” he said.
After the game, Doosan held a departure ceremony in front of the fans.
Before the season, not many observers had picked Doosan, which finished ninth last year, as a top-five contender.
Gone was former manager Kim Tae-hyung, who led the Korean Series for seven consecutive years. Yang Ji returns, but with so many veterans, the average age of the team has increased. There were also plenty of power leaks.
Lee Seung-yeop, whose only experience on the coaching staff was with the Choi Gang Baseball.
Immediately after his appointment, he had a one-on-one meeting with the players to inspire confidence. Sometimes, he also threw bold games. As a result, they succeeded in advancing to the fall baseball.
Even on a weekday, 15,850 baseball fans gathered in Jamsil. The game attracted a lot of attention, and the scheduled departure ceremony after the game was also a factor that attracted fans to attend.
However, some in the Doosan fanbase do not view Lee favorably.
Doosan’s 2023 season wrap-up video was broadcast on the scoreboard. When Lee’s inauguration was shown, some fans booed instead of cheering and applauding.
There are many voices criticizing the veteran-oriented management of players such as Kim Jae-hwan and Kim Jae-ho.
The bullpen, including Jung Chul-won, Kim Myung-shin, and Hong Gun-hee, is also suffering from fatigue. The team’s bunt-oriented, small-ball team color is also a source of complaints.
The team was aiming for second place with an 11-game winning streak, the longest by a native manager in the KBO.
However, the team would quickly slip into a losing streak due to the accumulation of losses during the winning streak. 먹튀검증토토사이트 Not a single one of the young beasts, including Ahn Jae-seok, Kim Dae-kim, Yang Chan-yeol, Kim Min-hyuk, and Lee Yoo-chan, has settled into the lineup.
Doosan is preparing Kwak-Bin to start the first game of the wild card. Brandon is also in good form this season. SSG Landers and NC Dinos will be battling it out until the end. Doosan seems to have the edge.
Lee’s behavior this year has been more of a “hot guy” type of thing, with players doing ceremonies with him. Now it’s time for him to turn into a cold competitor.