Professional baseball ends its long hibernation and raises its curtains.
The KBO League opens on the 1st and enters a long race with 144 games per team and a total of 720 games. The transfer of free agents (FA) in the offseason and the performance of newly recruited foreign players are expected to make the ranking competition more intense than ever. In the demonstration game, which was a ‘prelude’, last year’s team eliminated in the top 5, Hanwha Eagles and Samsung Lions ranked first and second, while Kiwoom Heroes, a team that advanced to the Korean Series, stayed at the bottom. This paper conducted a survey on the ‘2023 Season Pando’ for 7 professional baseball commentators. SBS Sports commentator Lee Jong-yeol said, “This year, any team can win and any team will be able to go to the bottom.”
◇ LG and KT received 7 votes for the final 5 candidates
All of the commentators selected LG Twins and KT Wiz as ‘candidates for the top 5’. MBC Sports Plus commentator Jeong Min-cheol said, “LG has the best overall balance.” praised it. The king of salvation last season, Go Woo-seok, is currently undergoing rehabilitation treatment due to inflammation of the supraspinatus muscle, one of the muscles in the right shoulder rotator cuff. It’s not a small negative factor, but LG plans to fill the vacancy of Go Woo-seok with human-induced tactics by putting Jung Woo-young, the king of hold, as well as Lee Jung-yong and Lee Woo-chan, in the right place. SBS Sports commentator Kim Dong-soo said, “LG has left Chae Eun-seong (Hanhwa) and Yoo Kang-nam (Lotte Giants), but there are so many veterans who can solve the game well.”
The vote for KT was also hot. KT had bad news throughout the demonstration game. Pil Seung-jo’s core resource sovereignty and Kim Min-soo each broke away from the battle line. Both players suffered muscle injuries, so a two-month hiatus is inevitable. At the end of the demonstration game, even the starting center fielder assigned a fractured left back. It was diagnosed that it would be difficult to play for 5 to 6 weeks, so it was an emergency. KBSN Sports commentator Park Yong-taek said, “KT is a favorite for the championship, but there are too many variables in the early stages of injury. Commissioner Lee Jong-yeol said, “There are a lot of injured people, but looking at their strength, nothing seems to be missing much compared to last year. The team with the most stable selection is KT. Foreigner one-two punches (Wes Benjamin and Bo Schulser), So Joon So and Ko Young are the most in the KBO league. We have a good starting lineup,” he said. Commissioner Jeong Min-cheol also gave a similar evaluation, saying, “KT starters are more like a constant than a variable.”
◇What kind of team will match up with LG in the Korean series?
I took a step further when asked to pick the top 5 candidates. Right away, he boldly asked, “Please anticipate the Korean Series (KS) matchup.” Six out of seven commentators voted for LG to advance to the KS. Another team to play against LG was SSG Landers, KT, and Kiwoom Heroes. Spotify commentator Jeong Min-tae said, “LG’s pitching is stable. I think it will definitely take a spot in KS.” Erik Yokishi and Choi Won-tae have strong pitchers, so I see a higher chance.” Member Jeong Min-cheol said, “It seems that the race at the beginning of the regular season will be difficult,” but “The void created by Shim Woo-jun’s enlistment was filled with Kim Sang-soo to prevent power loss. The domestic starting team is good, and the batting line guarded by Park Byeong-ho, Kang Baek-ho, Hwang Jae-gyun, and Alford is also good.” I raised KT’s hand.
SSG’s foreign pitcher Eni Romero is undergoing rehabilitation due to a shoulder injury. His long-term departure is expected, so the possibility of a replacement is even mentioned. Commissioner Lee Jong-yeol advised, “If you want to make a decision, you have to do it quickly.” Commissioner Kim Dong-soo said, “SSG seems to be able to aim for the top because the strength of the domestic starters (Kim Gwang-hyun, Moon Seung-won, Park Jong-hoon) is good if foreign players show good performance.” 안전놀이터
Among the experts who responded to the survey, only KBSN Sports commentator Yoon Hee-sang chose the Kiwoom-KIA Tigers match without LG as the KS matchup. Commissioner Yoon Hee-sang said, “Kiwoom’s starting lineup, led by An Woo-jin, is close to the ‘Fantastic 4’. KIA also seems to have selected foreign pitchers (Sean Anderson and Adonis Medina) well (while maintaining the existing strategy).”