‘Golden Return’ with Asian Games Gold Medal… KBO’s Last-Minute ‘War for Third Place’ Becomes the Biggest Variable
NC challenges to secure 3rd place with return of '3 Musketeers' Kim Hyeong-jun, Kim Joo-won, and Kim Young-gyu.
The 'competition to get out of last place' between Samsung, Hanwha, and Kiwoom is also of interest.
The 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games baseball team players, who cried and laughed together for about three weeks and won four consecutive gold medals, are now returning to their 'enemies' again. 바카라사이트
Those who achieved the gold medal despite the concern that they were the 'weakest team of all time' must return to their respective teams and contribute to the fierce ranking competition at the end of the season.
With less than 10 days left until the scheduled end of the regular season on the 17th, the KBO League is in the midst of a 'war for third place' with a direct ticket to the semi-playoffs at stake.
LG Twins confirmed first place in the regular league, and KT Wiz, second place with only two games remaining in the regular season, is also taking a breather, ahead of third place NC Dinos by 3.5 games.
3rd place NC was ahead of 4th place Doosan Bears by only half a game, and 5th place SSG Landers lagged behind 4th place Doosan in winning percentage without a win.
The 6th-place KIA Tigers and 7th-place Lotte Giants fell 3.5 and 6.5 games behind SSG, which is the postseason cutoff line, in 5th place.
Mathematically, there is still hope for fall baseball, but considering the current strength and remaining games, it is virtually difficult to board the last postseason train.
The situation of 3rd place, which goes straight to the semi-playoffs, 4th place, which starts with one win in the wild card match, and 5th place, which has never advanced to the semi-playoffs in the previous 8 wild card matches, is a world of difference.
After finishing the Asian Games, the national baseball team will return to Korea via Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the 8th and return to their respective teams.
Their addition is expected to act as a significant variable in the final ranking battle.
NC is the team that can aim for the biggest increase in power in the short term thanks to its returning power.
NC, which had starting shortstop Kim Joo-won, left-hander Kim Young-gyu, and backup catcher Kim Hyeong-jun in the Asian Games, fell to 5th place at one point due to a 6-game losing streak amid their power vacuum.
In the absence of starting catcher Park Se-hyuk due to injury, even Kim Hyeong-jun played in the Asian Games.
After that, An Jung-yeol and Park Dae-on took turns guarding the home base, but they struggled.
NC was able to break their losing streak two games after Park Se-hyuk returned from injury.
NC coach Kang In-kwon said, “If (players who have been to the Asian Games) start playing early, we need to check their condition after they return.”
SSG's 'center line' returns, including starting shortstop Park Seong-han and center fielder Choi Ji-hoon.
However, veteran Kim Seong-hyun, who replaced Park Seong-han, has been very active with a batting average of 0.324 in the last 10 games, and Guillermo Heredia has filled the center field position brilliantly, leaving a relatively small gap.
SSG was able to manage its roster more comfortably with the return of its two starting fielders.
Doosan sent only one domestic ace, Kwak Bin, to this Asian Games.
Even then, Kwak Bin ended the tournament without being able to pitch in a single actual game due to an injury.
Fortunately, Kwak Bin's physical condition improved towards the end of the tournament, so Doosan is planning to closely examine him and decide whether to pitch.
There remains a 'competition to get out of last place' between the 8th place Samsung Lions, 9th place Hanwha Eagles, and 10th place Kiwoom Heroes.
Kiwoom is 3 games behind Samsung in 8th place and 2 games behind Hanwha in 9th place.
Samsung will return starting outfielder Kim Seong-yoon, infielder Kim Ji-chan, and Won Tae-in at once.
Hanwha's Moon Dong-ju, who made a brilliant comeback in the final against Chinese Taipei, is back, but he is not expected to stand on the mound for the remaining games as he has already passed his pitching limit.
Instead, the return of Noh Si-hwan, who leads the league with 31 home runs, is a big help.
Kiwoom aims to escape last place by using the return of national team captain Kim Hye-seong and backup catcher Kim Dong-heon as a stepping stone.