“As the director, I don’t want to pass the buck. I will write the report.”
KIA Tigers President Shim Jae-hak has declared the 2023 season a failure. 메이저사이트With manager Kim Jong-kook apologizing repeatedly to fans during the final two games of the season against the NC Dinos on April 16-17, it’s safe to say that the leaders on the field and in the front office are aware of their responsibilities.
On the surface, there are two reasons for KIA’s failure this season. First, there were too many injuries from the opening game. After being plagued by injuries, big and small, all year long, the Tigers briefly built a full roster from early July to late August, winning nine straight games to turn things around.
However, a series of injuries to Lee, Mario Sanchez, Park Chan-ho, Na Sung-beom, Choi Hyung-woo, Park Chan-ho, and Choi Won-joon in the final weeks of the season completely halted their momentum toward the top five. It’s true that injuries played a role in their downfall. However, behind the scenes, the failure of the four foreign pitchers and the overloaded bullpen were creating a vicious cycle. There were a lot of games where the bats didn’t come through.
Add to that the fact that there was a lot of bad fan sentiment toward manager Kim Jong-kook. It is reported that the club was aware of this phenomenon, regardless of the stories circulating around OTT as fact. Of course, Kim Jong-kook’s term is until the 2024 season.
Before the Gwangju NC game on the 16th, Shim Jae-hak, the head coach of the club, realized the failure of the 2023 season. “I had a meeting with the power planning team and scouting team today. If you really think about it, it’s a failed season. You will hear my thoughts on it. I will write a report,” he said.
All clubs are required to report to the parent organization at the end of the season. KIA is one of them, and after finishing the New Tigers’ second year in sixth place, we’re eager to see what’s in it. According to Shim, the reports will be an important reference for preparing for the 2024 season.
“I will receive a report of each department’s thoughts, and I will also write it. I’ll write it down and reflect it in next year’s plan.” The team is determined to look back on the 2023 season and prepare for the 2024 season with as much transparency as possible, rather than simply favoring the views of certain members. Each department’s report is a kind of “open paper” for reflection and improvement.
The front office is faced with the task of signing free agents Kim Sun-bin and Ko Jong-wook, as well as Choi Hyung-woo, who is a non-free agent but classified as a multi-year contract candidate. Following the Okinawa spring training in late October, the 2024 spring training is tentatively scheduled to be held in Australia (exact location TBD) and Okinawa. The team will take a week off before gathering again in Gwangju to train before heading to Okinawa.
“I don’t want to pass the buck. My biggest concern is how to organize next year’s season, how to balance it and fill in the gaps. The season is over, but for me, it’s just beginning. There are a lot of things that are lacking. I’m worried about foreign pitchers and the batting average is up, but I can’t ignore the gap at first base. I was reminded of the thin depth of my backups. Creating power parity is my biggest challenge. The challenge is to make the depth thicker so that the team can fight for positions.”