KIA, 'Targeting for 2nd consecutive win' Samsung, LG...Hanwha pledges fall baseball at new stadium
KIA, 'Targeting for 2nd consecutive win' Samsung, LG...Hanwha pledges fall baseball at new stadium
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With the opening of the 2025 Shinhan Sol Bank KBO League just three days away, 10 professional baseball teams are also predicting fierce competition for rankings this year.
Starting with the opening series of the Kiwoom Heroes-Samsung Lions (Daegu Samsung Lions Park), Lotte Giants-LG Twins (Seoul Jamsil Stadium), Doosan Bears-SSG Landers (Incheon SSG Landers Field), Hanwha Eagles-KT Wiz (Suwon KT Wiz Park), and NC Dinos-KIA Tigers (Gwangju-Kia Champions Field), which will be held for two days from the 22nd, the six-month long journey will begin.토토사이트
The 10 clubs will play 144 games per team, advancing to the postseason from 1st to 5th.
Each club, which strengthened its power through free agent (FA) contracts and trades last winter, raised their sense of play by playing spring camps and practice games, and finished preparing for the season after exhibition games.
KIA, which won its 12th Korean Series title last year, will try to win its second consecutive title.
KIA, which boasts a strong power this year, is considered a strong candidate for the championship.
After the end of the season, Jang Hyun-sik, a must-win group, left for LG as an FA, but filled the vacancy with Cho Sang-woo, a "special bullpen" acquired in a trade.
In addition, new foreign pitcher Adam Oler, who will serve as a starting one-two punch along with ace James Nail, will return in June after undergoing elbow ligament joint surgery (Tommy John Surgery) in June last year.
KIA has also got more aggressive. Patrick Wisdom, who hit 88 home runs in 455 games in the Major League, joined the Kia lineup this year.
Samsung, which was satisfied with the runner-up after being blocked by KIA last season, is challenging the presidential race again with a solid starting mound and a strong batting lineup.
Samsung signed a four-year, seven-billion-won contract with Choi Won-tae, who was once the biggest free agent starter, to reinforce the mound. Choi is a professional starting agent with 78 wins, 58 losses and 4.36 ERA in 217 games.
He broke up with Connor Seabold, a foreign pitcher who performed well last season, but erased the gap by signing Ariel Furado, who played as Kiwoom ace for two years. Furado's two-season career record is 21-16 with a 3.01 ERA.
Moreover, he re-signed all-weather infielder Ryu Ji-hyuk, veteran outfielder Kim Heon-gon, and foreign hitter Lewin Diaz, allowing him to build a well-organized lineup this year.
LG, which is seeking to regain the top spot in two years, also has solid pitching and hitting power.
Eliasers Hernandez, Yonny Chirinos, Lim Chan-kyu and Son Joo-young are in charge of the starting lineup, while Kim Jin-sung, Kim Young-woo, Jung Woo-young, Baek Seung-hyun, transfers Jang Hyun-sik and Kim Kang-ryul are holding on to the bullpen mound.
Veteran Kim Hyun-soo, Oh Ji-hwan, Park Hae-min and Park Dong-won will take the center stage in the lineup, while Austin Dean, Moon Bo-kyung and Hong Chang-ki will help.
KT, which finished first with six wins in seven exhibition games, is also drawing attention.
Last winter, side-arm starter Um Sang-baek, who became a free agent (FA), and Shim Woo-joon, who was the mainstay of the infield, left-hander Oh Won-seok left for Hanwha, but through a trade with SSG, they brought veteran infielder Huh Kyung-min, who was an FA.
He also joined hands with proven foreign player Enmanuel de Heissus, who won 13 games at Kiwoom last year. Heissus will lead the starting lineup of KT along with William Cuevas, Ko Young-pyo, and Cho Hyung-joon.
Hanwha, which uses Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark, its new stadium, as its home stadium starting this year, is aiming to advance to autumn baseball for the first time in seven years since 2018.
Hanwha reinforced its power by recruiting Um Sang-baek and Shim Woo-joon in the FA market for a total of 7.8 billion won for four years and 5 billion won for four years, respectively.
Hanwha, which has added proven starting agents to its rotation, will have a strong native starting lineup consisting of Ryu Hyun-jin, Um Sang-baek and Moon Dong-ju. If they play together, synergy effect will be maximized.
The power of the central lineup, which has been built by new foreign batter Esteban Floral, home run king Noh Si-hwan in the 2023 season, and Chae Eun-sung, who hit 20 home runs for the second consecutive year, is not inferior to other teams.
Doosan, Lotte, SSG, and NC are also looking for a performance of five or higher.
Doosan, which suffered from brutal deaths of foreign pitchers last year, desperately needs new faces such as Col Irvin and Jack Rogue. Jake Cave, a new foreign hitter who finished preheating through exhibition games, should also play his part.
In addition, first batter Kim Min-seok, third baseman Kang Seung-ho, and infielder Oh Myung-jin, who ranked first in batting average in exhibition games, are also important.
Lotte, which finished seventh last year, will mark its second year under manager Kim Tae-hyung.