The Doosan Bears have fallen into an “investment swamp.”
Doosan lost 0-1 in the second round of the Wild Card (WC) decision on last Thursday. Doosan, which lost 0-4 in the first round, also became the fourth-ranked team in the regular season to allow the WC upset for the first time.
After the game, Doosan fans gathered in front of the entrance of Jamsil Stadium in Seoul shouted “Lee Seung-yeop, get out” for two hours. Some of them sang “El Dorado” for the Samsung Lions or Lee’s cheerleading song when he was a player to mock Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop.
Lee Seung-yeop has been under fire due to his style that has remained unchanged this season. He preferred small balls focused on operations since his first year (2023) and fast replacement of the bullpen, which was centered on young guns. This led to fewer runs and overloading of some bullpen pitchers. The booing that appeared in the final home game last year was repeated frequently this season as well. It peaked at “Lee Seung-yeop, get out.”
In fact, this is close to a foreseen tragedy. Doosan, which advanced to the Korean Series for seven consecutive years from 2015 to 2021 and won the title three times, continued its “greatest ever investment” with the appointment of coach Lee Seung-yeop. Hur Kyung-min, Jung Soo-bin and Kim Jae-hwan, who became free agents right before Lee’s appointment, were retained. Even after Lee’s appointment, he signed with Yang Eui-ji, Yang Seok-hwan and Hong Geon-hee. The total amount of contracts awarded to the six players amounts to 51.05 billion won. During their heyday, Doosan failed to catch Lee Jong-wook, Son Si-heon, Yang Eui-ji (primary FA), Oh Jae-il, Choi Joo-hwan and Park Geon-woo. However, after Lee’s appointment, only one Park Se-hyuk, who was replaced by Yang, was missing.
Expectations have risen in proportion to his bold investment. However, his performance has continued to decline. In the KBO league, he must meet the eligibility requirements for at least eight years (based on high school graduates) to become an FA. He is already over 30 when he is considered to serve in the military. Moreover, Doosan’s highly paid players are those who made their debut in the first division belatedly after training and competition in the second division. Most of those in their mid-30s showed signs of aging curve, which meant that their skills deteriorate as they get older.
Doosan’s reality was directly revealed in the WC match. Veteran hitters were pushed out of power against foreign pitchers with outstanding pitching capabilities. Among them, Heo Kyung-min was the only one who had long balls (one double in the first game) and multi hits (two hits in the second game). At the centerline, Kim Jae-hwan and Yang Seok-hwan failed to garner any RBIs. Yang Eui-ji, the highest paid player, failed to stand at bat and watched his team’s defeat due to left collarbone inflammation he suffered at the end of the season.
Finding other countermeasures is not easy right now. It is hard to change the entry list full of high-paid players within at least two to three years. Realistically, it is not easy to give up victory for the sake of the future while spending tens of billions of won (tens of millions of dollars) in annual salary. Mid-sized backup fielders with experience in the first half of this year are involved in the case of substitute Oh Jae-won, making it difficult to return to the team. It is hard to find a top-rated promising player who can change the mood of the team with just one player. 스포츠토토
