Through the Wild Card (WC) decision held at Changwon NC Park on the 19th, NC Dinos coach Kang In-kwon and Doosan Bears coach Lee Seung-yeop entered their first fall baseball stage as head coaches. The starting lineup that day contained traces of the two coaches’ concerns. This is because it is necessary to form the best lineup, which is different from the regular season, as the head coach’s tendencies, baseball philosophy, and competitive nature are clearly revealed.
NC, which advances to the semi-playoffs (semi-PO, best-of-five series) if it achieves a draw or better in the first game, has Son Ah-seop (designated hitter), Park Min-woo (second baseman), Park Geon-woo (right fielder), Jason Martin (center fielder), Kwon Hee-dong. The lineup consisted of (left fielder) ~ Kim Joo-won (shortstop) ~ Seo Ho-cheol (3rd baseman) ~ Kim Hyeong-jun (catcher) ~ Do Tae-hoon (1st baseman). There was some breathing room thanks to the return of Park Geon-woo and Seo Ho-cheol, who had been excluded from the lineup at the end of the regular season due to knee and ankle injuries.스포츠토토
It is noteworthy that Kim Hyeong-jun was appointed as the starting catcher instead of veteran Park Se-hyuk. Park Se-hyuk played for Doosan from 2012 to last year, so he knows his opponents very well. However, Director Kang believed in the flow rather than experience. He explained, “We judged that Kim Hyeong-jun was better in terms of chemistry with starting pitcher Tanner, and since he continued to show good performance at the end of the season, we decided to let him go first.”
Doosan has Jeong Soo-bin (center fielder) ~ Kim Jae-ho (shortstop) ~ Jose Rojas (designated hitter) ~ Yang Eui-ji (catcher) ~ Yang Seok-hwan (first baseman) ~ Kang Seung-ho (second baseman) ~ Kim In-tae (left fielder) ~ Heo Gyeong-min (third baseman) ~ Cho The starting lineup for Dong Soo (right fielder) came out.
What stands out most is that the name of Kim Jae-hwan, the unwavering fourth hitter, is omitted. Kim Jae-hwan’s batting average was only 0.220, 10 home runs, and 46 RBIs in 132 games during this year’s regular season, and he has recently suffered from pain in his right hand, which has somewhat reduced his sense of actual play. Coach Lee said, “Because (Kim Jae-hwan) failed to play in the last game of the season, we judged that he would have problems with his sense of the game if he suddenly started as a starter. Fortunately, the condition of his hands has improved a lot,” he explained.
Kim Jae-ho’s placement at shortstop is aimed at strengthening defense. Coach Lee said, “Because it is a big game, I judged that defense would play a big role,” and expressed his belief that “Kim Jae-ho, who has more experience, will play a more important role than Park Jun-young, who has somewhat less experience as a shortstop.”