If you ask any baseball expert about the candidates for the 2024 championship, the LG Twins and KT Wiz come up. This is because domestic players have good skills and foreign players also have proven players, so it has become stable.
LG won the championship last year for the first time in 29 years. It's not a surprise win. They have consistently become a strong team, reaching the postseason for five consecutive years. They continued to challenge for first place by rising to third place in 2021 and second place in 2022, and last year they came together as a team and achieved the championship.
Their strength is that they enter the 2024 season with the batting lineup ranked first in team batting average and first in team scoring. The starting lineup is also expected to stabilize with the addition of Choi Won-tae. The bullpen bullpen that showed in the second game of the Korean Series last year, including Kim Jin-seong, Jung Woo-young, Yoo Young-chan, Baek Seung-hyun, Park Myung-geun, and Ham Deok-ju, is also solid. As for foreign players, Casey Kelly and Austin Dean have renewed their contracts, and left-handed pitcher Dietrick Ens, who pitched for the Seibu Lions in Japan for two years, has joined the team and will become the first starter.
KT renewed contracts with William Cuevas, the winning percentage leader with 12 wins and undefeated, and Wes Benjamin, second with 15 wins and most wins, and Mel Rojas Jr., who hit 47 home runs in 2020 and won four gold medals and was named MVP, returned to form the strongest foreign player combination. Domestic hitters such as Park Byeong-ho, Kang Baek-ho, Jang Seong-woo, Bae Jeong-dae, Kim Sang-soo, and Kim Min-hyuk have remained the same. The bullpen, which was lacking last year, is expected to be quantitatively enriched as veteran Woo Gyu-min was brought in in the second draft, and Kim Min-soo and Park Si-young are expected to return from injuries.
However, there is something different about this good power. Coincidentally, both LG and KT's built-in finishers left the team. Ko Woo-seok, who created LG's first winning moment in 29 years, went to the Major League's San Diego Padres through posting, and Kim Jae-yoon, who was the main player in the KT Wiz's 2021 championship, became a free agent after last season, won a jackpot of 5.8 billion won and moved to the Samsung Lions. left. Both are in a situation where they have to challenge for the championship with a new finish.
A new finishing candidate has been decided. LG is Yoo Young-chan, KT is Park Young-hyun.
Park Young-hyun appears to be a more prepared closer. He joined the team as a first-round pick in 2022 and recorded 32 holds last year, his second year, becoming the youngest player to surpass 30 holds and the youngest hold king. Last year, he recorded a save in the first game of the Korean Series against LG. In any situation, he had a strong heart to confidently throw the ball. He left a strong impression on baseball fans by confidently throwing fastballs in last year's Asian Games against Taiwan.
Yoo Young-chan was suddenly promoted to closer. Yoo Young-chan, who graduated from Konkuk University and joined in the 2nd 5th round in 2020, entered the first team for the first time last year. He recorded 6 wins, 3 losses, 1 save, and 12 holds. He was promoted to the first team for the first time and pitched decently. He actually raised his stock price in the Korean series against KT.
He laid the foundation for the team's 5-4 comeback with perfect pitching with no hits, no hits, four walks, no runs, and no runs in 2⅓ innings in the second game on the 8th. At that time, starter Choi Won-tae was forced out in the first inning and all bullpen pitchers were mobilized, but Yoo Young-chan pitched over two innings, giving the bullpen some breathing room.
He also recorded his first hold in Game 3 on the 10th, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, and no runs in 2 innings. Thanks to their decisive pitching in the 2nd and 3rd games, which were important games for LG to win the Korean Series, LG coach Yeom Kyung-yeop selected Yoo Young-chan along with Park Dong-won as the 'Near Miss Award' in addition to Korean Series MVP Oh Ji-hwan and awarded them 10 million won in prize money each at his own expense. also gave.
And with the pitching at that time, Coach Yeom selected Yoo Young-chan as a closer candidate to fill Go Woo-seok's vacancy.
In order to win, a stable finish is essential. For LG and KT to run a race worthy of winning, it is important how quickly Yoo Young-chan and Park Young-hyun settle into the finish line. Who is ready for the finish?
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