Lotte Giants responded sincerely to KIA Tigers’ preparation for the Korean Series. First-tier hitters will be forward-deployed in No. 1 to No. 4 to play practice games.
Kia will hold a practice game against Lotte in preparation for the 2024 Korean Series at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on Wednesday. Originally, the game was scheduled to take place at 6 p.m., but the game was postponed to 1 p.m. due to rain forecast in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula from the afternoon.
In the meantime, Kia’s game management plan changed a little. James Nail and Yang Hyun-jong were scheduled to throw three innings each, and pitchers such as Jeon Sang-hyun, Jang Hyun-sik, Jung Hae-young and Kwak Do-gyu were scheduled to play one inning each.
Prior to the game, KIA manager Lee Bum-ho said, “The forecast for rain is a variable. If it rains a lot in the middle, we can use only two innings each for starting pitchers and raise the bullpen quickly.”
The team will keep its batting lineup intact. The team has Park Chan-ho (striker), Socrates Brito (left fielder), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Choi Hyung-woo (designated hitter), Na Sung-bum (right fielder), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Lee Woo-sung (first baseman), Kim Tae-gun (captor), and Choi Won-jun (middle fielder), which is identical to the regular season’s best lineup.
Kim Do-young, Choi Hyung-woo, and Na Sung-beom The plan is to assign players who can get as many on-base as possible to score as many points in the clean-up trio. Lee Woo-sung will be on first base, which is the biggest concern. I hope Lee Woo-sung, who has been steadily on the decline in hitting since his injury, will boost his condition in the rest of the year.
Lotte, which became the final team’s opponent in practice, assisted 꽁머니 by including a large number of its players in the first division. On the day, Lotte’s lineup consists of Hwang Sung-bin (left wing), Yoon Dong-hee (center fielder), Son Ho-young (third baseman), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Junghoon Lee (designated hitter), Jeong Dae-seon (striker), Shin Yoon-hoo (right wing), Lee Ho-joon (second baseman), and Information-geun (catcher). The starting pitcher is Lee Min-seok who throws fast balls up to 152 km per hour.
Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung, whom I met before the game, said with a smile, “I originally didn’t want to use four players 1 to 4 times, but without those players, it would be too much.” He said, “I practiced for two days. I heard it’s raining, but I’m going to try my best considering the situation.”
The practice game between the two teams took place when Kia Tigers coach Lee Bum-ho and Kia Tigers general manager Shim Jae-hak visited Kim Tae-hyung in person and made a request in the final match between the two teams in Gwangju last month. With the season over, it is not easy for the two teams to become sparring partners compared to the Korean Series. However, Kim Tae-hyung, who has led the Doosan Bears to the Korean Series for seven consecutive years, understood the difficulties, and the game was held. Kia expressed gratitude by sharing the accommodation and meals of Lotte players who will participate in practice games.
“I can’t even say no when two people come and ask for it,” manager Kim Tae-hyung said with a hearty laugh, “I’ve played (Korean Series) a lot, but it’s not easy to set up a practice game. I used to go to Miyazaki in Japan for a practice game in the past. It’s true that it’s not easy to talk about it to other teams first, and I accepted it because I know the difficulties.” “Young players liked the practice game with KIA. If they score a lot in one inning, they will give priority to KIA by replacing the inning immediately,” he added.