KBO manager focusing on own club with postseason position hinging on other results

▲ Kim Jae-hwan of the Doosan Bears (R) rounds third base after hitting a three-run home run against the Kia Tigers in the top of the first inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 29, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ In this file photo from Oct. 15, 2020, Kim Tae-hyoung, manager of the Doosan Bears, waits for the start of his club's Korea Baseball Organization regular season game against the Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. (Yonhap)

▲ Doosan Bears players celebrate their 9-2 victory over the Kia Tigers in a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 29, 2020. (Yonhap)

baseball club-manager

KBO manager focusing on own club with postseason position hinging on other results

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- The Doosan Bears are entering Friday, their final day of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season, with their postseason seeding still to be determined.

They're in fifth place as they are set to host the Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, but depending on results in other stadiums, they could reach as high as third place.

If the Bears beat the Heroes, and if the second-ranked KT Wiz and No. 3 LG Twins both lose their games Friday, then the Bears will finish third and earn a trip straight to the first round. Losing to the Heroes means a fifth-place finish and taking the lower seed in the Wild Card game for the Bears, the defending Korean Series champions.

Doosan manager Kim Tae-hyoung will only think about taking care of his own business.

"We have to win our game, first and foremost," Kim said during his pregame media availability. "I'll be receiving updates on other games throughout the evening, but they won't make any difference for me. We just to have to take care of our own game."

And Kim does have enough on his plate to worry about, with two key hitters dealing with injuries. Infielder Choi Joo-hwan has a foot injury that will limit him to pinch-hitting duties for now. Outfielder Park Kun-woo was added to the active roster for Friday's game after missing nearly two weeks with a knee injury. Kim said he wasn't yet sure if Park would be healthy enough to get into the starting lineup.

Then there's the inconsistent performance of cleanup hitter Kim Jae-hwan. Kim belted his 30th home run of the season on Thursday as part of a 3-for-5 day, but he had gone 0-for-17 in five games prior to that.

Kim, the 2018 regular season MVP, is batting .268, his lowest average since becoming an everyday player in 2016. Despite those 30 homers, his slugging percentage is only .498, the second-lowest mark since 2016.

"He isn't close to his best," the manager observed. "He has been really inconsistent. There have been stretches when he couldn't get his timing down on anything. I don't know if I can pinpoint any one reason for that."

Kim Jae-hwan also leads the KBO with a career-worst 153 strikeouts. His strikeout rate -- the ratio of strikeouts per plate appearance -- is also the worst of his career at 25.1 percent.

The skipper said he isn't about to tell his slugger to change his approach.

"He's our cleanup. I'm not going to tell him to start focusing on making contact all of a sudden," Kim Tae-hyoung said. "I am sure he has his own ideas about what he has to do."

Kim, the manager, has been to the postseason every season since taking over as manager in 2015. He won the Korean Series in both of his first two seasons, and added a third championship last year.

He knows what a postseason game feels like, and he said these late-season regular season games, with postseason contenders trading places almost on a daily basis, have had the feel of win-or-go-home games.

"We see this as a must-win game," Kim said of Friday's contest. "It's all hands on deck, and I am sure the other team feels the same way."


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