Samsung ran with a sharp edge of 'Batado KIA'... KIA also ran with him. Will the nine-game gap narrow
Samsung ran with a sharp edge of 'Batado KIA'... KIA also ran with him. Will the nine-game gap narrow
Blog Article
In 2024, Kia defeated a number of "Tiger-Tiger-Tiger-Tiger-Tiger" teams to ultimately win the title. Despite numerous crises, the team was able to maintain its No. 1 position by quelling the pursuit of the second-ranked teams through their dominance in face-to-face confrontations. In the end, the team reached a point where its pursuers gave up, and KIA secured its regular season title by nine games ahead of the second-ranked Samsung.
The team that chased Kia was Samsung until the very end. However, the team failed to catch up with Kia in the middle and late stages of the season, and ended the season with no more effort than securing the second place at the end of the season. Had the team overcome the last crisis to accelerate its pursuit, the championship battle with Kia, which had been plagued by injuries, could have ended, but it failed. Eventually, Samsung lost to Kia in the Korean Series and ended up as the runner-up.
At the end of the season, "If only this player was healthy..." It leaves a lot of regrets, but in the end, it was also the team's ability. Samsung, which reflected on positive achievements and what needs to be supplemented for its challenge to win the title, is moving enthusiastically during this offseason. There are positive aspects, too. The starting lineup has become stronger, and young players who tasted baseball's success last year are expected to grow further. All of last year's main players remained in the team.
Instead of Connor Seibold, who had good performance last year but failed to play in the Korean Series due to injury at the end of the season, Furado has recruited Ariel Furado, who has been proven in the KBO league. Furado is an ace pitcher who pitched 374 innings in 60 games while playing for Kiwoom for the past two years, recording 21 wins and 16 losses with an ERA of 3.01. He is not worse than Connor. Samsung, which has renewed its contract with Denny Reyes, who has completely grasped the situation since the middle of the season, has successfully strengthened its capacity by signing a four-year, 7 billion won contract with Choi Won-tae, who was once considered the biggest fish in the FA market.
Although the team failed to meet expectations at LG, Choi is a pitcher who can win double-digit wins. He is one of the best in Korean players' one-two punch along with Won. Samsung, which has secured four strong starting pitchers, also has the advantage that it can send other players besides the one who wins the starting pitcher competition to the bullpen. As it is true that the bullpen is showing signs of aging, it will be a new boost. Fielders have retained players who were released as free agents one after another, maintaining at least last year's level of performance.
Samsung, which was ranked second last year, has aggressively stepped up efforts to strengthen the team by recruiting Choi Won-tae, because it believes that the next two to three years including this year is the right time to win the Korean Series. After that, some young players, including Won Tae-in, may become eligible as free agents, while veteran players, who are the mainstay of the bullpen, will get older. They say that they should run when they can run in harmony with the new team. It is interesting to note, however, that Kia also worked hard during the offseason as much as Samsung, which aimed to become the champion and overthrow of the team. Kia also has a similar view to Samsung.
With the opening of this off-season, Kia has lost Jang Hyun-sik, its key setup man, and a sense of crisis has grown. While competing teams such as Samsung and LG have strengthened their power, they did not have many positive factors in their power. KIA also had a desperate need to show as good a performance as possible within two to three years when the current member was retained, and ultimately threw a game-winner to recruit Cho Sang-woo in a trade. Kia also pitched two rookie nominations and 1 billion won in cash for Cho, who has one year left until the FA, so it can be said that Kia has firmly secured a win.
He then renewed his contract with Lim Ki-young and Seo Geon-chang, an internal FA. Considering that Cho Sang-woo replaces Jang Hyun-sik's share, the year 2025 can start with no power compared to the end of last year. There are also a number of factors to look forward to, such as the return of Lee Eui-ri, who was virtually out of power last year, the healthy start of the season for Yoon Young-chul, and the growth of young fielders including Yoon Do-hyun. If Samsung's foreign lineup is stable, it is also interesting to note that KIA recruited two new players (Adam Aller, Patrick Wisdom).
A nine-game gap in the regular season was quite a big difference. Samsung and other rival teams worked hard throughout the offseason to narrow the gap, and Kia, feeling a sense of crisis, moved enthusiastically through the offseason to show no signs of progress. With Kia's performance still looking solid, attention is focusing on how much the rest of the team including Samsung will be able to follow suit. We need to open the lid first. 토토사이트