Samsung is over, too! The power of the master who led the giant army of 8 wins and 2 losses, now faces the teacher...Biggest crisis at the start of the season

Apr 21, 2025

Lotte-Samsung match held at Daegu Lions Park on the 19th. Jeon Min-jae is welcomed after hitting a two-run shot with no outs and second base in the top of the fourth inning. Daegu = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.4.19/

Lotte's Na Seung-yeop hits an RBI triple in the top of the ninth inning with no outs in the game between Lotte and NC at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 11th. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.04.11/

In a game between KIA and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 10th, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung appeals to the referee and comes into the dugout with a smile. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.04.10/

Literally, the giant army is promising a different day from yesterday with an explosive rise.

Lotte Giants had an unstable start since the opening, falling to ninth place at one point. On the 9th, it fell to 9th place.

However, starting with a sweep of three consecutive games against the NC Dinos in early April, he rebounded and showed off a stormy run that instantly rose to second place in just 10 days. Last week, he continued his high-flying 5-1 weekly against the Kiwoom Heroes and Samsung Lions. It has eight wins and two losses in the last 10 games.

Director Kim Tae-hyung is at the center of it. He is the main player who made an explosive rise by recording his first 50% win rate since taking the helm of Lotte last season and ranking second for the first time since 2023. As a result of complying with the rule of hiring players since the days of the Doosan Bears that "Players who are good continue to use" Lotte is shining so hot that it is second to none even to the light of the LG Twins.

The shaking at the beginning of the season was attributed to the sluggishness of new hitters who showed an upward trend last year. Na Seung-yeop is the only player in the so-called 「Yoon Go or Hwang Son」 who has not been to the second division due to injuries and sluggishness. The lack of scoring ability was a problem.

Here, the mega-hit trade for the second consecutive year turned the mood around. If Son Ho-young, who clinched a clean-up trio by hitting a home run last year, was a key card, this year it is Jeon Min-jae and Jung Chul-won, the leaders of the mega trade.

Lotte and NC match at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 11th, and Lotte Jung Chul-won is cheering after striking out NC Kwon Hee-dong in the bottom of the eighth inning. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.04.11/

While Jeon Min-jae leads the infield's stability as the main shortstop in defense, he is also showing off his fire bat that goes up and down 40% in batting. After the points for victory were accumulated, Jung Cheol-won, who tied for first place in the hold category (7), was also dispatched (14 games, 3rd overall in the number of appearances). With an explosive ceremony that heats the dugout and bullpen, he has been reborn as an atmosphere maker as much as Hwang Sung-bin. He said "Personal records can be achieved at any time. Most of all, I want to help the team win"I'm getting motivated.

In the starting lineup, Park Se-woong recorded the most strikeouts in a single game (12), signaling the best year of his career. Based on the good pitching of the quality start No. 3 (more than 6 innings and less than 3 earned runs), he is running for the first place (4 wins) with multiple wins.

Chung Hyun-soo, who has grown into one of the pillars of the bullpen by showing off his stability while playing the most appearances (17 games) in the league, is also surprising. Now, it has gained the trust of head coach Kim Tae-hyung enough to be used as a bridge, not as a one-point relief.

Lotte Park Se-woong clenching his fist after overcoming the crisis of losing points in the 5th inning.

On top of that, Kim Won-joong, who has his long hair cleanly, locks the back door with a 0.79 ERA in salty water pitching. Veteran players such as Kim Min-sung and Jeon Jun-woo are also leading the team at every crisis.

The head coach's mercenary skills that led to this trend are impressive. Coach Kim Tae-hyung gave the team a chance throughout the exhibition game and the beginning of the season. And as soon as the flow is caught, I am pushing it as it is.

There were many questions about the leadoff and center field fixing of Hwang Sung-bin, as well as Jeon Min-jae, who was acquired through a trade. However, head coach Kim Tae-hyung pushed without wavering once he made up his mind, and the two players are playing a central role in the team's batting lineup. With Na Seung-yeop (joint fourth in homers, five)'s long-shot power, which is different from the previous one, on fire every day, Ko Seung-min has also become a table setter in the trust of the head coach. It has regained last year's firepower by ranking second in the team's batting average (27.9 percent) and third in the OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage, 0.743).

Lotte-Samsung match held at Daegu Lions Park on the 18th. Hwang Sung-bin, who scored when Ko Seung-min hit with one out and second base in the top of the fifth inning, is welcomed. Daegu = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.4.18/

Although bullpen Jung Chul-won and Chung Hyun-soo are burdened, otherwise Lotte is likely to have failed to overcome the flow at the beginning of the season and collapsed. As a natural adventurer, he boldly pushed ahead even at the beginning of the season with the mind that `It's hard, but you have to endure it.' As a result, he created an explosive rise.

On the other hand, he also gave players who showed good performance last year a convincing opportunity. At the beginning of the season, Park Seung-wook and Yoon Dong-hee were clear main fielders with no competitors. When they failed to meet expectations despite sufficient opportunities, they went down to the second division and created a competitive structure for the team, and as a result, Jeon Min-jae and Kim Min-sung of the infield and Jang Doo-sung of the outfield, who got the opportunity, created the atmosphere.

However, Lotte faced its biggest crisis at the beginning of the season. It is a showdown with the Hanwha Eagles, who have won seven consecutive games.

Both teams have something in common: the 20th century, the last championship. The last autumn baseball season is in 2017 for Lotte and 2018 for Hanwha. The image representing each other and the nickname 'bird alliance', which combines seagulls and eagles, also contains the sensibility of a low-ranking companion.

KBO League SSG and Hanwha match held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 16th. Hanwha won the SSG. Coach Kim Kyung-moon greets his fans after the game. Incheon = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.04.16/

This year is different. Hanwha has recently won seven consecutive games and risen to second place in the league with strong starters led by Ponce Weiss Ryu Hyun-jin and closer Kim Seo-hyun. Both teams will face off at the peak of their rise. It is a clash that can change the game at the beginning of the season.

Manager Kim Tae-hyung and Kim Kyung-moon are in a relationship between students and teachers who have been in the same team for a long time when they were at Doosan. Lotte had a relative advantage of 9 wins and 7 losses last year. In the face-off at the beginning of the month, the two teams won and lost 1 game.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.