Consolidated win → 5th place drop... KIA is looking back on its lessons in 2018, but this year is different? You can tell when you see the members
Consolidated win → 5th place drop... KIA is looking back on its lessons in 2018, but this year is different? You can tell when you see the members
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Kia, which won the title at the end of the 2017 regular season amid fierce competition, was selected as one of the favorites to win the title even ahead of the 2018 Noon season. From the outside, the leak of power did not appear to be that big. It seemed that way, as virtually no player moved to another team among the 2017 winners.토토사이트
He renewed his three-year contract with Kim Ki-tae, who led him to the Korean Series title in 2017, providing a solid foundation for him, and changed some of his coaching staff positions, but it was difficult to see any changes in the framework as long as Kim was present. He also renewed his contracts with all three foreign players (Hector Noesi, Pat Dean, and Roger Bernadina). Veteran players Lim Chang-yong and Kim Joo-chan also remained with the team, and successful contracts with Yang were also signed. In the second draft, three more players joined the team than one player who played.
Kia has had a challenging season throughout the 2018 season, however, without displaying robustness comparable to that of the previous year. In the 2017 regular season, Kia recorded 87 wins, 56 losses and one draw (.608) and was the only team in the league with a winning rate of 60 percent. However, it failed to achieve a winning rate of 50 percent in 2018 with 70 wins and 74 losses (.486), and collapsed in the wild card game. After slumping to seventh place in 2019, Kia failed to advance to the post season until 2021.
The previous year's strongest team fell to eighth place in the middle of the next season, which was a big crisis. It was a more shocking fall because I thought I maintained it even if I didn't reinforce my power. Amid a number of issues being discussed, it was a year that left a painful lesson that we should not be satisfied with the status quo. All foreign pitchers, who thought there would be no problem, remained sluggish compared to the previous year, and the bullpen, which relied on veteran players who were on the decline, lacked basic physical strength. Although the hit was fierce, veteran players began to leave more often. And KIA was highly dependent on those veterans.
Kia, which has won the title for the first time in seven years since 2017, may have been busy in the offseason in 2024. Although it was difficult to strengthen its strength in terms of team structure and salary structure, it looked pessimistic about the situation as much as possible and tried to make new attempts while making up for its shortcomings. "I felt a sense of crisis as championship contenders such as Samsung and LG continued to strengthen their power," an official at Kia said. Kia, which judged that it has a higher chance of winning the title in 2025 than 2026 due to its current power structure, is reorganizing its team by making bold bets.
It was painful for Jang Hyun-sik (LG), who played a good role as a setup man for his team last year, to transfer to the team after becoming an FA, but he boldly traded with Kiwoom to recruit Cho Sang-woo to fill the void. KIA insiders expect that Jang Hyun-sik and more will show contributions to the team. Foreign players have also changed the two. Instead of renewing the contract with James Nail, who played as a foreign ace last year, he recruited Adam Oler, a relief pitcher, to upgrade the remaining position, which was a problem. The change of Socrates Brito, who played not bad for three years, to Patrick Wisdom symbolized KIA's struggle to reinforce its strength, whether it was right or wrong.
The difference from 2018 is the composition of the team's squad. In 2018, the proportion of veteran players was larger than now. As they turned a year older, the probability of injury naturally increased and their skills deteriorated, which led to a decline in the overall performance of the team. I can't guarantee it again this year, but the aspect is a little different. Of course, it is true that there are veterans among the main players, including Choi Hyung-woo, Yang Hyun-jong, Na Sung-beom, and Kim Sun-bin, but many of the main players are made up of players in their 20s.
On the contrary, the proportion of players in their early and mid-20s, including Kim Do-young, Jeong Hae-young, Lee Eui-ri and Yoon Young-cheol, is never lower than that of other teams. Unlike veteran players, these players have the potential to display better performance compared to the previous year. They say they have the potential to offset the deterioration of skills of veterans. The backup players have improved compared to then, and infielders and mound players have a considerable number of resources.
Of course, even if we prepare like this, we don't know what will happen during the season. The decline in skills of veteran players may be larger than expected, and the upward graph of players who did well last year may be reversed. Foreign players are always variables. However, as it has been well revealed this offseason that we are preparing for various scenarios, there is enough expectation that we will move quickly even with variables during the season.