Kia Tigers players celebrate winning the Korean Series title following a 7-5 win over the Samsung Lions in Game 5 at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 28, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
GWANGJU, Oct. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The Kia Tigers had a rocky start to the 2024 season, as their manager Kim Jong-kook was fired just before the start of spring training due to bribery allegations.
Hitting coach Lee Bum-ho was promoted to take over as their new manager. The 42-year-old immediately became the youngest manager in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), with no prior managing experience, either.
Dispelling concerns about his lack of experience, Lee guided the Tigers to the best record in the regular season at 87-55-2 (wins-losses-ties), a comfortable nine games ahead of the Samsung Lions.
These two rivals clashed in the Korean Series, and the Tigers dispatched them in five games, punctuating with a 7-5, come-from-behind victory in Game 5 at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul.
It made Lee the second-youngest manager to win a Korean Series title in his first season at 42 years, 11 months and three days old. He is also the third manager ever to win both the regular-season and the Korean Series titles in the first year in charge, joining two former Lions skippers: Sun Dong-yol in 2005 and Ryu Joong-il in 2011.
Lee said he didn’t have a doubt he would be able to win a title with the Tigers, though perhaps not in his first year.
“I took over the team because I was confident I could win a title within the first two seasons,” he said. “And I wanted to accomplish that goal as soon as possible. And we have a lot of talented young players and veterans who can still play. I want to mold this group into a team that can keep improving.”
This was a dream-come-true moment for Lee, who has spent the past 14 years as a player, a coach and the manager for the Tigers hoping to lift the championship trophy at home in Gwangju. The Tigers have won a league-record 12 titles now, and this was only the second time that they got to celebrate in front of their home fans — the first time since 1987.
And even though the Tigers were down 5-1 early in Monday’s game, Lee felt confident his team could rally.
“If we could keep them to five runs, I thought we could definitely catch them because they didn’t have many pitchers left,” Lee said. “We ended up in plenty of two-out chances and were able to get it done in the end.”
Lee said he was reluctant to throw around the word “dynasty,” even though he felt confident his current roster is capable of repeating as the champions next year. Lee said attention to detail will make the difference.
“There is parity in our league, and we have to be detail-oriented,” Lee said. “Our goal next year is to stay humble and take it one step at a time.”
Lee also said he wants to do more for the Tigers than just winning titles.
“Obviously, the goal every season is to win it all, but I also want to see each and every player grow,” he said. “I want as many players to enjoy the experience of winning as possible.”
The losing manager on Monday, Park Jin-man, thanked his players for their hard work.
“Although we came in second place, our players did their absolute best all season long,” Park said. “From spring training, a lot of people regarded us as a non-playoff team. So our players were determined to prove them wrong.”
Park said he was heartened to see the development of young players who complemented their veteran core.
“I think we had a pretty good balance between the older group and the younger guys,” Park said. “But as was the case last year, we need to bolster our bullpen. We will try to regroup and return to the postseason next year.”
(Yonhap)
