From 2011 to 2015, Samsung won five consecutive regular league titles and four times overall. During the dynasty, Samsung's greatest strength was its tight-knit bullpen. Through this stove league, Samsung has built a strong back door that reminds people of those times.
Samsung succeeded in recruiting Kim Jae-yoon (34), the closing pitcher of the KT Wiz this winter. It also brought in Lim Chang-min (39), the closing pitcher of the Kiwoom Heroes. Finally, Oh Seung-hwan (42), the "final king," stayed on the 16th to gather the closing trio.
As a result, the three companies that will take charge of Samsung's seventh, eighth and ninth innings have been formed. They have a combined 691 saves and 88 saves last year alone. The lineup is breathtaking for the opposing team, who will be dragged into the game.
It reminds me of Samsung during the dynasty. At the time, Samsung did not have to worry about victory if it was winning until the fifth inning. Starting with Oh Seung-hwan as the closing pitcher, no one could easily attack Chung Hyeon-wook, who was called the "people's yardstick," Kwon Hyuk, a scary left-hander, and Ahn Ji-man, whose trademark was to wear a twisted hat.
Fans called it the "JOKKA" line after the spelling of Chung Hyun-wook (J), Oh Seung-hwan (O), Kwon Oh-joon (K), Kwon Hyuk (K), and Ahn Ji-man (A).
As Oh Seung-hwan moved overseas and Kwon Hyuk moved to the Hanwha Eagles, and other players lost their power one by one, Samsung also began to go downhill. Although he advanced to the fall baseball league in 2021, it was the only postseason Samsung has experienced since 2015.
Problems were especially serious last season. Samsung allowed 38 come-from-behind losses, and the result was painful as it ranked eighth. The team's ERA was the lowest at 4.60 while that of the bullpen was just 5.16.
In the end, after the season, Samsung decided to replace the general manager. One of the reasons was that it had a pretty big stake, and it was hard to find a solution to the collapsed bullpen.
SBS Sports commentator Lee Jong-yeol took over as the new general manager and aggressively stepped up efforts to reinforce pitchers as soon as the Stove League opened. As soon as the market opened, he rushed to Kim Jae-yoon, the biggest player in the bullpen for free agents. Lee recruited him for a total of 5.8 billion won (down payment of 2 billion won, annual salary of 2.8 billion won, incentive of 1 billion won) for four years, and Lee told Star News in a telephone interview that he was busy as soon as the market opened. "I think Kim Jae-yoon also moved his heart due to such aggressive attitude," Kim Jae-yoon said in a press release, "I felt that the Samsung Lions, a prestigious club, made a good offer and truly felt that he needed me." He admitted that he was attracted to Samsung's aggressive courtship.
Lee was confident despite the fact that he had overlapped with Oh. "It can be a very well-intentioned and pleasant competition. From the manager's point of view, it is much better," he said. "I talked with him a lot and I can coordinate everything. I don't think there will be any problems at all."
In the second draft, the team also recruited Yang Hyun, a sideline pitcher, in anticipation of the absence of left-handed pitcher Choi Sung-hoon and right Kyu-min, who gave up to KT Wiz. It also brought in another closing card. It reported a two-year contract with veteran bullpen pitcher Lim Chang-min worth 800 million won (down payment of 300 million won, annual salary of 400 million won, option of 100 million won). Despite his old age, he recorded 122 saves in total and 26 saves in ERA 2.51 last year, which is why he showed off his robust performance.
While continuing negotiations with Oh Seung-hwan, he continued to strengthen his net. Lee Min-ho (31), who was released from the NC Dinos, was hired for an additional 45 million won per year, and Kim Dae-woo (36), who played 64 innings, the most in last year's bullpen, also signed a two-year contract for a total of 400 million won (100 million down payment, 200 million annual salary, optional 100 million won) on the 8th. In a telephone interview with Star News right after the contract, Lee said, "As a swingman, he is the best pitcher in the market."
It also reported the long-awaited recruitment of Oh Seung-hwan (42). It was worth 2.2 billion won (down payment of 1 billion won and annual salary of 1.2 billion won) for two years. It took a long time due to lack of salary cap space, but the team has achieved the strongest back door. "We have reached the conclusion of this season's pitching staff," Lee said in a press release. "It took some time during the negotiation process as we thought about the best way for the team amid an atmosphere of understanding each other." He expressed his expectations, saying, "I want to express my gratitude to Oh for understanding and following the team's moves to form the best team."
Oh is a living legend who recorded 400 saves, an unprecedented number of times, as he became the king of salvation five times in the KBO League alone. Whenever Oh Seung-hwan's save is added this season, Korean baseball is expected to be rewritten. In addition, it is expected that a grand retirement ceremony will be held in the future, as well as under the permanent vacancy and Doosan Bears coach Lee Seung-yeop.
The teams that will face Samsung will have to face Oh Seung-hwan, Kim Jae-yoon and Lim Chang-min in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. The exact order is still unknown. We need some more time to confirm whether we will decide on a certain position after going through the spring camp, or whether we will move to the collective finishing system while monitoring the situation during the season.
The lineup is breathtaking regardless of the order. The team that will face Samsung this year will have to have the mindset that it must succeed in turning the tables before the seventh inning.
However, assuming that the starting pitcher survives at least five innings, no one is certain to be in charge of the sixth inning. Some say that the team should form a "LOCK" line comparable to the "JOKKA" line. The meaning of locking the ball is also perfect for a bullpen session. Lim Chang-min (L), Oh Seung-hwan (O), and Kim Jae-yoon (K) are firm, but to that end, we need to find the main character of C.
It is not just a tight-fitting game. There are several candidates. Choi Choong-yeon (27), Choi Ji-kwang (26), and Choi Chae-heung (29). Having garnered high expectations as the first player to be designated by Samsung in 2016, Choi is an experienced bullpen pitcher who recorded highs of 2-6 with eight saves and 16 hold ERA of 3.60 while playing 85 innings in 70 games in 2018. He showed poor performance last year. He suffered elbow pain and was unable to fully recover his physical condition. In the end, he pitched only nine ⅓ innings in seven games in the first division.
It's been an unsatisfactory year. He has not made a clear contribution since 2018 due to surgery and personal matters. The mindset of preparing for 2024 is inevitably different.
Choi Ji-kwang is also one of the candidates. Choi, a rookie in the second round in 2017, is a pitcher who helped the bullpen greatly by holding 10 holds in 2019, 15 holds in 2020, and 14 holds in 2021. He finished mandatory military service at the Korean Armed Forces Sports Unit, and played in 22 games after his return to the team last year, but failed to display significant performance with two wins and one hold, ERA 5.19. Since he displayed stable performance in the Futures League last two seasons, he is expected to do his best to return to the must-win group next season.
Choi Chae-heung could also be the starting pitcher of the team. He also had high expectations as a rookie designated in the first round in 2018, but has yet to fully bloom. He garnered 11 wins as a starter in 2020, but has been sluggish over the past two years. He is classified as a starting pitcher so far. However, he has to compete with Hwang Dong-jae, rookie Yuk Sun-yeop, and left-hander Lee Seung-hyun for the remaining two foreign players this season, and Won Tae-in, and Baek Jeong-hyeon. If he fails to get ahead of others, he is highly likely to be appointed as a bullpen.
If the starting lineup collapses early as expected by Lee Jong-yeol, Kim Dae-woo could start early. What is clear is that in order to achieve more wins, we need a player who can definitely take responsibility for the first inning in the sixth inning when we are winning the game. Of course, a player other than the main character of C can take the helm. What is clear is that finding the main character is one of the major tasks of Samsung's spring camp.
"Now it's the manager's time. If he does a good job and shows a good performance, we had 38 come-from-behind losses last year. If that happens, he could have a much wider scope in running the team," Lee said in a telephone interview with Star News. "I'm looking forward to it."
With them, there will be no 38 come-from-behind losses. Even if we reduce it by half, we can aim for autumn baseball. This is why Samsung is already drawing high expectations this season. 토토사이트먹튀