The LG Twins have made the postseason in all but three seasons between 2013 and last year. That’s enough to classify them as a powerhouse, but they’ve never quite made it to the top.
Despite their success in the pennant race, they often faltered in fall baseball, seemingly unable to shake off the pressure. In 2013 and 2022, they finished second in the regular season and were unable to punch their ticket to the playoffs (PO) due to an “upset” (a lower-ranked team beating a higher-ranked team in the playoffs).
But this year was different.
For the first time in 29 years since 1994, LG finished the regular season in first place and went straight to KS. They didn’t crumble in the final stage either. In their first KS appearance in 21 years since 2002, LG defeated the KT Wiz in a best-of-seven series to win the title.
LG captain Oh Ji-hwan, 바카라사이트 who was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the KS, was asked what was different from previous falls, and his answer was “baserunning.
“LG coach Yeom Kyung-yeop ordered us to play aggressively from the beginning of the season. I made a lot of attempts and died a lot. Outsiders might say, ‘What is this,’ but I think the players became challenging through that process,” he said.
“I think that’s why the younger players were able to play with confidence and not be afraid,” he added. LG manager Yoon Kyung-yup, who took over the reins of the team ahead of the 2023 season, predicted an aggressive batting lineup early on. It was an unsurprising declaration from a manager who is adept at tactical baseball, but the “results” came with a question mark.
This year, LG has attempted 267 stolen bases in 144 games.
This compares to 181 for the second-place Doosan Bears.
On the other hand, they have been caught 101 times for 166 successful attempts, giving them a stolen base success rate of 62.2%, the lowest among the 10 teams. As a general rule, a stolen base success rate of 75% or higher is required to be recognized, so LG’s baserunning struggled to earn a passing grade. They also ranked last in baserunners (78) and first in caught stealing (15).
The team was criticized for breaking the flow with overly aggressive baserunning. “We need to make our opponents realize that we can move at any time,” said coach Yeom Kyung-yup.
Despite the baseball controversy, LG cruised.
They topped the leaderboards in both team ERA (3.67) and team batting average (0.279), thanks to a steady batting lineup.
After hoisting the championship trophy, Yeom admitted that the much-maligned infield play was one of the things he worked on to turn the team around.
“There was a lot of talk about running the bases, and I was really worried about it. But in the end, running was not the absolute goal,” he said. “I thought what our team needed was to get rid of hesitation and nervousness and create an atmosphere of playing more confident baseball, and I thought that was the first baseball that our LG could succeed in.”
He continued, “My goal was to create a team that could play confident baseball without hesitation, and I think the players worked together to the end to create the good results we have now.”
The players grew from their failures and were able to swing the bat and play fearlessly on a bigger stage. Having tasted the top, they took another leap forward.
“I think this win is just the beginning. LG has taken the first step to become a really strong team and a prestigious club.” “If we continue to make a good process, the results will follow,” he said, looking further into the future.