“It’s not this, I have to do something like that (winning the Korean Series) that ended yesterday… Coach Kim Tae-hyung will do something next year.”
“Mr. Lotte” Kim Yong-hee (69), the head coach of Futures who returned to his hometown Lotte Giants after 17 years, led his team to the first win of the Autumn League. Despite his disappointment, he mentioned his achievement.
Lotte became the first winner of the tournament with a 10-2 victory over the NC Dinos at 3 p.m. on the 29th at Munsu Baseball Stadium in Ulsan in the 2024 Ulsan-KBO Fall League final.
The Ulsan-KBO Fall League is part of a level-up project announced by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) last year to strengthen the competitiveness of Korean baseball. In the previously held educational league, which was mainly focused on Korean teams, participated in the Education League, which included the Softbank 3rd Division of Japan’s NPB, the Mexican League Alliance Team (Team LMB), Jiangsu Hughesholds of China’s CBA, and the Cuban national team (Team Cuba).
The domestic team included five teams, including Lotte, LG Twins, Goyang Heroes (Kium Futures Team), NC Dinos, and Independent League All-Star, while Lotte ranked second overall with four wins, one draw and two losses in the qualifying full league. Then, Lotte, whose qualifying performance was ahead, confirmed its automatic advance to the final as the semifinal of the independent league All-Star was canceled due to rain.
At this year’s championship, Lotte was able to pull off a good performance thanks to the pitching staff. The relatively silent lineup also showed complete changes in the finals. Kim Min-seok (20) and Choo Jae-hyun (25), who had experience in the first division, each had four hits, while young players such as Lee Ho-joon (19) and So Han-bin (19) also contributed. Kim Min-seok won the MVP of the competition, and Kim also won the managerial award.
Coach Kim, nicknamed “Mr. Lotte” as a Lotte One Clubman when he was a player, served as the head coach of the first team from 1994 to 1998. Since then, he served as the head coach and the second team coach from 2002 to 2006, and returned to his hometown team for the first time in 17 years late last year. While the Lotte first team succeeded in rebuilding the fielders this year, Lee Ho-joon, Park Joon-woo (19), and Lee Byung-joon (22) also showed good performances in the Futures team, raising expectations.
Coach Kim, who met with reporters after winning the championship, said, “It’s a shame (there were fewer games), but if the league is activated, there will be a lot of good players through it. I’ve been to the U.S. and Japan, but it’s a definite fact.” He continued, “Even though there were few games due to rain, it was quite good that each team played and the players’ movements were new.”
Asked to pick the best player in the tournament, manager Kim praised, “The pitchers overall pitched better than the individual players.” Manager Kim said, “The batters were sluggish, but the pitchers blocked them well and we were able to win.” “The batters did well today, but they gradually increased. Players from the first team have not been able to play many games, but as they play, their skills improve,” he said.
Finally, Kim expressed regret over the competition. “I can’t play games because it’s raining after playing one game. As the full league itself is long like in other countries, if I play with the same team two or three times, it helps me to know the opponent’s strength and prepare myself,” he said.
“We have to do something that we finished yesterday, not this,” Kim said with a smile. This was the story of the Korean Series, which ended with the victory of the Kia Tigers on Sunday. “Coach Kim Tae-hyung will do something next year,” Kim said, expressing high expectations. Chances are rising that Kim’s wish will come true as young players in this year’s championship show good performances. 토토사이트
