A ‘fresh start’ for the Lotte Giants. Sparks flew to the Doosan Bears. The team was plagued by an unexpected outflow of coaches.
After finishing seventh this season, Lotte immediately began to reform. Midway through the season, head coach Larry Sutton left the team due to health reasons, and assistant coach Lee Jong-woon took over for the remainder of the season.
After missing the postseason for the sixth straight year, the team hired a “winning coach. Kim Tae-hyung, who led the Doosan Bears from 2015 to 2022, was selected as the new manager.
Kim led Doosan to the 2015 Korean Series title upon taking the helm, and the team has since advanced to the Korean Series for seven straight years. Doosan won three Korean Series titles (2015, 2016, 2019) and two integrated titles (2016, 2019), making it a “dynasty” team.
One of Kim’s strengths is his game plan. He waited patiently through the regular season, but when he thought he had a game in hand, he made bold moves to improve his performance. Although he has been criticized for ‘abusing pitchers’, he has been recognized as a manager who knows how to get results.
Lotte, which is starting anew under Kim Tae-hyung-ho, has organized many of its existing coaching staff. On the 22nd, it was announced that “Acting manager Lee Jong-woon, Park Heung-sik, Choi Kyung-cheol, Jang Tae-soo, Jeong Ho-jin, Kim Dong-han, and Ryan Long, a total of eight coaches, have decided not to renew their contracts for next season.”
The search for a new coach began at the same time. A “firestorm” erupted at Doosan, where Kim was at the helm. One by one, coaches who had worked with Kim at Doosan joined the organization.
This season, Kim Joo-chan, Ko Young-min, and Yoo Jae-shin are leaving for Lotte. Kim Joo-chan will be in charge of the first team hitting staff alongside Ko Koji. Kim started his career at Samsung, but was known as a “Lotte man”. He moved to Lotte in 2001 and played until 2012. He then moved to KIA, retired in 2020, and coached at Doosan. He returned to the Giants after 12 years.
Coach Ko Young-min is a pure Doosan man who has only played for Doosan. As a player, he teamed up with Kim Tae-hyung to win the 2015 Korean Series, and as a coach, they’ve teamed up again.
Coach Yoo Jae-shin has Lotte DNA. Yoo’s father is the late Yoo Du-yeol, who led Lotte to the 1984 Korean Series title. In Game 7 of the Korean Series against Samsung, Yoo was named the Series MVP for his thrilling come-from-behind three-run home run in the seventh inning to win the title. Yoo began his coaching career at Doosan after playing for Hyundai, Heroes, and KIA.
With the departure of the first and second team part-time coaches, Doosan will need to find a new coach, and more departures are expected. The team is also in the process of reorganizing its coaching staff apart from the addition of Kim Tae-hyung-ho.
Recruiting talented coaches is not easy. This season, Doosan achieved a modest result by finishing the regular season in fifth place. While it was disappointing to see the team fall from its third-place finish, it was also praised for the chemistry between players and coaches, including an 11-game winning streak. 토스카지노 도메인
Doosan’s season came to an end on the 19th with a loss in the wild card decider against NC. However, the team had a busy winter with little time to rest.