Kiwoom's Fall that no one Expected… Ended with Lowest Win Rate in 12 Years
FA recruitment and trades continued to fail... Rankings drop due to serial injuries to players.
Worrying about next year without Lee Jeong-hoo... High-intensity power rebuilding efforts required.
Kiwoom Heroes, who broke many people's expectations in last year's postseason and took second place in the Korean Series, was sincerely aiming for their first win since their founding this season. 먹튀검증
As main hitter Lee Jeong-hoo entered the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) after the season and left the team for the time being, the club decided that 2023 was the perfect opportunity.
However, the result was the lowest win rate in 12 years, which no one expected.
Kiwoom, who completed all 144 regular season games with a 2-3 loss against SSG Landers held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 13th, received 58 wins, 3 draws, 83 losses, and a winning percentage of 0.411 as the final report card.
The winning percentage of 0.411 is the lowest winning percentage since 2011, when the team ranked last among the eight clubs with a winning percentage of 0.389.
The rankings may change depending on the final performance of the 8th place Samsung Lions and 9th place Hanwha Eagles, but currently, it is becoming a reality that it is difficult to ignore even the first 10th place since its inception.
Kiwoom's participation in the fall baseball season was canceled early on.
It has been 6 years since Kiwoom failed to participate in the postseason in 2017 (final 7th place).
Kiwoom, an 'emerging powerhouse' who debuted in the postseason for the first time since its founding in 2013 and played in fall baseball 9 times in 10 seasons, suffered from bad luck throughout this season.
Won Jong-hyun, the first ‘pitcher outside free agent' (FA) recruited in the club's history, underwent elbow ligament fusion (Tommy John) surgery after not appearing in a few games.
In addition, Lee Hyeong-jong, who was ambitiously brought in as a Futures free agent, performed below expectations, and Lee Won-seok, who was acquired through a trade with the Samsung Lions and given a long-term contract, also performed poorly, so all of Kiwoom's external blood transfusions ended in failure.
In addition, even Lee Jeong-hoo suffered from a serious slump in batting at the beginning of the season, and Kiwoom started in the bottom tier.
Lee Jeong-hoo came back to life after mid-May, but with the exception of Lee Jeong-hoo and Kim Hye-seong, the failure of young fielders to grow as expected was also an obstacle for Kiwoom.
The final blow was the injury to Lee Jeong-hoo, who had to undergo foot surgery at the start of the second half.
The moment it was revealed that Lee Jeong-hoo would not be able to participate in the remainder of the season, Kiwoom boldly pressed the 'rebuild' button and began preparing for the future.
If there is any consolation for Kiwoom, it is that outfielder Lee Joo-hyung, who sent Choi Won-tae to the LG Twins and received the team, has shown the potential to grow into a top fielder in the league.
In addition, Kim Hye-seong received military service benefits through the Hangzhou Asian Games and can serve as the team's focal point next year, and rookie catcher Kim Dong-heon also grew a bit through the Asian Games.
Starting next year, Kiwoom will no longer have Lee Jeong-hoo.
In order to return to fall baseball, high-intensity efforts to rebuild power are needed this winter.
Kiwoom, which has guaranteed maximum autonomy in training of its players, will begin 'record-level' high-intensity finishing training in Wonju, Gangwon-do starting on the 22nd when this year's regular season ends.
Director Hong Won-ki announced that he would discover new faces through intensive training.
Kiwoom Heroes used the nomination rights collected through trade to select a total of six players from the first to third rounds in the 2024 rookie draft.
Even if they cannot immediately help the team next year, they must show hope that they can take responsibility for Kiwoom's future.
