“There has to be a tie in order to turn around. If there is a one-point difference in the ninth inning without second base, I decided that it would be a situation where I would have to sacrifice a sacrifice bunt.”
Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop revealed his beliefs about the operational situation the previous day (19th).
Doosan lost 6-7 in the match against Hanwha Eagles held at Daejeon Hanwha Life Insurance Eagles Park on the 19th. It was not an impossible game to reverse. In the beginning of the ninth, Doosan created a chance to score on second base safely with Yang Eui-ji’s hit and Kim Jae-hwan’s timely double. It was tied with one hit.
However, the Doosan bench chose a bunt instead of a hit. And it failed. The follow-up hitter Kang Seung-ho failed to bunt, so the runner could not advance, and Doosan eventually lost without an extra point. It was a strategy that was regrettable because Kang Seung-ho had long hitting power.
What were director Lee Seung-yeop’s thoughts? On the 20th, ahead of the last game against Hanwha in Daejeon, Lee met with reporters and conveyed his thoughts. Director Lee said, “I don’t know how the fans will take it, but it was a one-point difference. A comeback is important, but a comeback is important, but there must be a tie to do a comeback. Since it was the ninth inning, I decided that it was a situation where I would have to sacrifice a bunt with a one-point difference in second base.” I looked back.
Coach Lee said, “Since the result was like that, it’s correct to say it’s a failure. Still, I think it was a bunt situation in a one-point game. Regarding the strategy miss, everything is the director’s responsibility.”
Meanwhile, the subsequent pinch-hit operation also caused controversy. Coach Lee Seung-yeop later replaced Jose Rojas, who hit a home run, with right-handed hitter Shin Seong-hyeon as a pinch hitter. It was a way to respond to left-handed pitcher Kim Bum-soo, but criticism followed that it was excessive to exclude Rojas, who had a good batting result that day, as there was no outstanding difference in hitting between the two players. 안전놀이터
Director Lee Seung-yeop also explained this part. He said, “After talking with the hitting coach for that short moment, I decided that Seong-hyeon would be better. I thought that Rojas was still not that good against left-handed pitchers. He hit a home run, but I wasn’t sure. Kim Bum-soo threw a really fast ball. I also considered being a pitcher,” he said. “If Rojas’ condition improves as the season progresses, I won’t change it even if that situation comes, but yesterday I thought it would be better to change it. It’s a pity that the result is not good, but the result is of course the responsibility of the bench and the manager.” admitted that
On the other hand, in Doosan’s game on the 20th, Soo-bin Su, who played as a leadoff the day before, is taking a break from starting. Coach Lee Seung-yeop said, “Yang Chan-yeol hit a good ball in the game two days ago. He didn’t get a chance. He was in good shape, so I was appointed to the starting lineup.”