dhorramoirra
Lotte fans "I can't wait to win the championship"
"I didn't know until I wrote the contract, but after becoming a director, I realized my popularity, haha."
Lotte Giants head coach Kim Tae-hyung recently visited Pattaya, Thailand for a total of 15 days. He spent his busy schedule as a commentator in 2023 and took time to spend time alone for the first time in a while.
Originally, he tried to forget about baseball during his vacation, but it didn't go his way. He talked about Lotte with everyone he met. "Some people asked me to take good care of Lotte," Kim said at a cafe in Jamsil, Seoul, while others gently pressured Lotte to join the fall baseball league. "I've been thinking about baseball more than I did in Korea."
"I'm excited. I want to go to a spring camp in Guam right away," said Kim, who took the helm of Lotte in October last year. "Actually, I don't think changing the coach will completely change the team. Still, as many people are looking forward to it, I'll do my best to advance to the postseason this season and win the Korean Series within my term."
Coach Kim, who played as a catcher when he was an active player, took the helm in 2015 after being called by his former team Doosan. Since then, he has emerged as a master of the KBO league, writing the first milestone of advancing to the Korean Series for seven consecutive years until 2021. Before the last season, he ended his contract with Doosan and turned into a commentator, and returned to the scene after one season at the helm of Lotte.
Lotte has been suffering from a long-term slump. It has advanced to the postseason only once in the last 10 years. From 2018 to last year, it was ranked at the bottom of the 7th to 10th rankings every time. "Lotte has a lot of good resources. However, it needs to organize traffic by position," Kim said.
"Currently, catcher Yoo Kang-nam, a designated hitter and outfielder Jeon Joon-woo, and outfielder Yoon Dong-hee are among the key players. We plan to determine the remaining players through this spring camp. We have only outlined the current situation," he added. "He displayed strong presence in other players," said Ahn Chi-hong, an infielder who moved to Hanwha Eagles through FA contract this winter. How to fill his vacancy is also an important task.
This winter, Lotte replaced not only the head coach but also the front desk and staff. General manager Park Joon-hyuk, who served as head of the management team and public relations team for a long time, was appointed, and new coaches Kim Min-jae, Kim Kwang-soo, Kim Min-ho, and Ko Young-min who have close ties with Kim were brought in. 스포츠토토
"When I was forming the coaching staff, I was grateful that everyone readily gave me 'OK' signatures when I said, 'Let's play baseball together again.' I am just grateful to the general manager who treated the new coaches with respect," Kim said.
Lotte has had internal feuds over the past few years due to uncomfortable relationship between the manager and the team leader. "Park is a veteran who went through all sorts of hardships with Lotte," Kim said as if aware of this, adding that he has a lot of experience in war and knows the team well, making it easier to talk to them.
Kim also decided to wear No. 88 when he was the Doosan coach. When asked why, he said, "I wore No. 80 when I was a coach, but I used No. 88 for the first time since I became a coach. Coincidentally, my performance has been good since then. On the other hand, it also means that I was a member of the national baseball team for the 1988 Seoul Olympics," adding, "Lotte fans around me are showing great expectations. That's how much responsibility I have. From now on, I want to continue my 88 good vibes at Lotte." It was the brightest smile that Kim has met in recent years.
Lotte Giants Change Significantly Ahead of the New Season
New Director: Kim Taehyung
New Director: Park Junhyuk
New Second Division Director: Kim Yong Hee
New Coaches: Kim Min-jae, Kim Kwang-soo, Kim Min-ho, Joo Hyung-kwang, Ko Young-min, Kim Joo-
Recruitment Player: Kim Min-sung, Jin Hae-soo, Lim Joon-seop, Choi Hang
by dhorramoirra on 2024-01-31 07:56:14
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