The professional baseball LG Twins have fallen into their first consecutive loss of the season. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "We lost a game we had all but won. That's baseball."

On the 23rd, Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop reflected on the game against NC the previous day (22nd) at Jamsil Stadium, explaining for a long time about Lee Young-bin's strong hitting in a walk-off situation with one out and runners on second and third base in the bottom of the ninth.

In the top of the ninth with the game tied at 4-4, closer Jang Hyun-sik came on with one out and a runner on second base, allowing a timely hit to Park Min-woo. However, lead-off hitter Park Dong-won tied the game dramatically with a solo home run against NC's closer Ryu Jin-wook in the bottom of the ninth. Following that, Koo Bon-hyeok created a chance with a double to left center. Manager Yeom replaced Koo Bon-hyeok with pinch runner Choi Won-young and instructed Park Hae-min to execute a sacrifice bunt, setting up a walk-off opportunity with one out and a runner on third.

Lee Young-bin was retired on strikes, and then Hong Chang-ki reached base on a walk, but Moon Sung-joo's ground ball to the pitcher extinguished the chance to win. The team lost 5-6 in extra innings.

Manager Yeom noted, "I thought a lot about how to compete with Young-bin. I thought we wouldn’t do a suicide squeeze, and I considered doing a self-squeeze. Since the runner on third base is fast, I thought about whether the runner would see the bunt and come home, or let him hit (strongly). I started to worry a lot when Hae-min was bunting with a runner on second base."

To develop players, I chose to hit strongly. Manager Yeom said, "Koo Bon-hyeok also grew by hitting walk-offs in such situations, and ultimately, hitting, whether it's a sacrifice hit or a hit, will help the team win and provide a much better foundation for Young-bin's growth."

He continued, "If Young-bin fails, he will have a bad failure experience that will delay his growth. It's a pivotal moment. Whether that one opportunity leads to success or not makes a huge difference in a player’s mentality and confidence. Ultimately, my choice was wrong. Rather, if I had done a squeeze bunt, the player wouldn't have gotten hurt, and we could have won the game. This is the choice of a manager. If it fails, the manager bears all the responsibility, and it is the manager's fault."

Manager Yeom is also closely focusing on player development along with the team's performance this season. He has enhanced backup Song Chan-ih by starting him since the opening game, contributing to the team's success. Koo Bon-hyeok has been performing well as a utility player since last year and is a super backup on par with the starters.

Manager Yeom said, "Whether Young-bin or Jeong-bin comes up, one more person needs to grow close to the roles of Chan-ih and Bon-hyeok, creating an extra card for situations like yesterday. I am investing heavily to create that card. In yesterday's case, it also served as an investment for Young-bin, and it needs to be a success experience; otherwise, we will lose a lot. The team will lose (the victory), and Young-bin will lose confidence. Yesterday was a game where we lost a lot."

I also considered a pinch-hitter for Lee Young-bin. Oh Ji-hwan, who was on the bench, was unable to pinch hit due to back pain. Backup catcher Lee Ju-heon was still available. Manager Yeom said, "Honestly, I was really considering Ju-heon as a pinch hitter. The player I was thinking of for pinch hitting was Ju-heon. If Ju-heon had gone out to pinch hit and made contact, the probability of winning would have been high," showing some regret.

He added, "But both Ju-heon and Young-bin are being raised similarly, and since Young-bin standing up is a much bigger opportunity for the team, I had a hard time deciding between using Young-bin or Ju-heon with the bench coach. Ultimately, since the manager makes the decision amongst various options, the responsibility lies with the manager."

Manager Yeom said, "Young-bin has a high strikeout rate. Bunting would be better than hitting. However, once we reached 2 balls, we pushed for a stronger hit. Before making that decision, I thought, 'Okay, I have to hit to compete. If I want to raise Young-bin, I have to do this.'"

We suffered our first consecutive loss of the season. Manager Yeom said, "The players are doing well enough right now, and they did incredibly well yesterday. However, the decisions I made and the choices I made were all wrong, leading to the loss."

The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) league has a significant influence from managers' decisions in the 7th to 9th innings compared to Major League Baseball (MLB) or Japan, shaping the outcome of games.

Yesterday can be seen as a game I failed at. Ultimately, managers are judged by results. I made what I believed to be the best choice, but the outcome did not materialize. I pondered that decision deeply. Despite many considerations, when the choice is wrong and we lose, it is the manager's responsibility. Since every choice was wrong," he mentioned, referring to the responsibility of the manager.

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