The commanders of 10 professional baseball teams predicted that defending champion SSG Landers, LG Twins and KT Wiz, who boast strong mounds, would make it to the top 3 in the 2023 season.
On the 30th, the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Media Day was held at Grand Hyatt Seoul Grand Ballroom in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Wonhyung Kim (SSG), Wonki Hong (Kiwoom), Kyungyeop Yeom (LG), Kangcheol Lee (KT), Jongkook Kim (KIA), Inkwon Kang (NC), Jinman Park (Samsung), Larry Sutton (Lotte), Seungyeop Lee (Doosan), Carlos Subero ( Hanwha) and other 10 club commanders gathered in one place and expressed their determination ahead of the opening match on April 1st.
Coach Won-hyung Kim, who achieved the KBO’s first ‘Wire-to-Wire’ 토토사이트championship last year, threw a vote, saying, “I will do my best so that I can feel the tension I felt in the big game last year, the Korean Series, and the excitement after winning.”
Doosan’s new coach Lee Seung-yeop, who is about to debut on the KBO League stage as a leader, promised, “I hope you will trust our players. I will play baseball that never gives up and keeps the basics.”
The 2023 KBO League is evaluated as the most power leveling since the launch of the 10-club system in the first group in 2015. There is also an analysis that teams that have stayed in the lower ranks such as Hanwha and Lotte over the past few years have reinforced their strength through massive investments and there is no ‘absolute one drug’.
However, the teams classified as strong teams seemed to clearly come into the eyes of each club’s commanders. SSG, LG, and KT, which have solid starting rotations and fielding lineups, were predicted to have a high possibility of advancing to the postseason on Media Day.
Coach Kim Jong-guk praised, “LG and KT’s pitching power is the most stable,” and coach Hong Won-ki also said, “I felt the power leveling of the 9 clubs through the demonstration game, but I think it was LG and KT that felt the strong power.” was
Coach Subero said, “I always thought LG was a strong team. The pitching combination is very good and the foreign pitchers are also excellent.” Director Kim Won-hyung said, “Personally, I think LG and KT will go to fall baseball. Recently experienced post season. Considering all these things, I think he will play a game with us in the end.”
Coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop said, “All 10 clubs have the ability to advance to the postseason, but if I had to choose two teams, it would be KT and SSG. They have 5 clear starting cards and the batting order is very good. These two teams I think the probability of meeting us in fall baseball is the highest,” he acknowledged his opponent and revealed his confidence in LG Electric Power.
Director Lee Kang-chul laughed, saying, “Thank you for giving me a good evaluation.” “I keep coming up with the names of us, LG, KT, and SSG, but I’ll choose Samsung and Hanwha, which have good results in this demonstration game and have many potential players, as fall baseball candidates.” said.
Manager Park Jin-man joked, “We just tried to play hard, but coach Kang-cheol Lee chose Samsung. To be honest, I thought there wouldn’t be a single vote.” .
Coach Lee Seung-yeop said with a bitter smile, “The Doosan Bears didn’t get a single vote,” but he picked the second round, saying, “The pitcher is important in baseball. KT and LG will definitely go to the postseason.” Director Sutton mentioned SSG and Kiwoom, and director Kang In-kwon mentioned Kiwoom and KIA.