Kiwoom Heroes first team manager acting Seol Jong-jin (52) said, "Let's play with a desperate heart for the fans."
After greeting the Kiwoom first team on the 15th at Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome, acting manager Seol conducted training. This was his first official activity after taking over the first team following the dismissal of former manager Hong Won-ki the previous day (14th).
Prior to training, acting manager Seol noted, "It seems the atmosphere of the team has become quite subdued, perhaps due to poor team performance," and added, "When I watched the first half games from behind, the desperation that professional baseball players should have was not clearly visible. Let's play with a more desperate heart for the fans and the organization."
Kiwoom finished the first half of the season in last place among 10 teams, recording 27 wins, 3 draws, and 61 losses. The winning percentage (0.307) barely exceeded 30%, and the gap with the 9th place Doosan Bears widened to 9.5 games.
Kiwoom, on the verge of finishing last for the third consecutive year, dismissed director general Ko Hyung-wook, manager Hong Won-ki, and chief coach Kim Chang-hyun all at once on the 14th.
The Kiwoom organization will simultaneously begin the process of selecting a new manager and appointed Seol Jong-jin, the Futures (second team) manager, as the acting manager of the first team to carry out the remaining season schedule.
Acting manager Seol stated, "I feel a heavy sense of responsibility. Former manager Hong Won-ki asked me to stabilize the team’s tense atmosphere and lead the season well," and added, "The coaching staff changed because the results were poor. Therefore, I think results are important. There are 53 games left in the second half, and I aim for a winning percentage of 40-50%."
Regarding the reasons for Kiwoom's poor performance in the first half, he pointed out, "There were various issues such as the composition of foreign players and the starting rotation, but 'strategic baseball' was not being played."
He analyzed, "Our team is not a team that hits significantly more home runs compared to others. Our on-base percentage (0.306) is the lowest, and our batting average with runners in scoring position (0.240) is also at the bottom. This has led to a vicious cycle of not scoring many runs," and added, "We lost too many close games by 1-2 runs."
He continued, "I have judged that we need to play baseball that we haven't done so far. For example, our team's success rate in stolen bases is 89.4%, ranking first, but the attempts (47 times) are the lowest. We need to play more aggressively. I will also instruct many strategies, such as bunting from the early stages of the game."
Kiwoom will begin the second half of the season starting with a four-game away series against the Samsung Lions on the 17th.
Acting manager Seol said, "I joined the first team today. From now on, we need to determine the roster and batting order in preparation for the second half starting in two days, and I plan to discuss this with the coaching staff and analysis team. There may be a few changes in the roster, but there are no plans for significant changes at the start. I will utilize the core players."
He further stated, "I do not intend to change the roster too frequently. I will monitor the players and provide feedback on any shortcomings before considering substitutions, after observing them a bit longer."