Perennial doormat tops KBO preseason

▲ Kang Baek-ho of the KT Wiz celebrates his two-run home run against the Kia Tigers in the top of the fifth inning of a Korea Baseball Organization preseason game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, on March 30, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ Choo Shin-soo of the SSG Landers hits a single against the LG Twins in the top of the seventh inning of a Korea Baseball Organization preseason game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on March 30, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ In this file photo from March 23, 2021, Hanwha Eagles players celebrate their 4-3 victory over the Doosan Bears in a Korea Baseball Organization preseason game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. (Yonhap)

baseball-preseason

Perennial doormat tops KBO preseason

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, March 30 (Yonhap) -- The last-place team in South Korean baseball in 2020 has clinched first place in the exhibition season in 2021.

The Hanwha Eagles defeated the Kiwoom Heroes 9-2 in their final Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) preseason game on Tuesday, winning their final three games to improve their record to 6-1.

The defending champion NC Dinos and the Lotte Giants were to play the nightcap, but neither team will catch the Eagles, who are playing under new manager Carlos Subero and a revamped coaching staff.

The regular season opens on Saturday.

Subero and Co. were brought in to right the ship that has been sinking for years. The Eagles have made the postseason just once in the past 13 seasons and they finished last five times in that span -- a run of futility matched by few others in league history.

While preseason records rarely presage regular season success, winning six out of seven games at least gives the long-suffering Eagles fans something to cheer about this spring.

The Eagles will be in a rebuild mode and growing pains for their youngsters will likely be the dominant theme this year. They have cut ties with most of their 30-something veterans from last season.

Also on Tuesday, the SSG Landers, the new incarnation of the SK Wyverns following an ownership change, won their first preseason game. They beat the LG Twins 3-2 in Seoul after posting five losses and a tie in their previous six games.

Choo Shin-soo, former major league All-Star who signed with the Landers amid much fanfare in February, went 2-for-3 for his first multihit game in the KBO.

For the preseason, Choo batted 5-for-18 (.278) with four RBIs and four walks, with an on-base percentage of .409.

The KT Wiz knocked off the Kia Tigers 6-3 behind two home runs by slugger Kang Baek-ho. Both of Kang's blasts came against former major league right-hander Daniel Mengden, expected to be one of the top new pitchers in the KBO this year.

Kang batted 10-for-16 with two homers, six RBIs and five walks in the preseason.

The Doosan Bears edged out the Samsung Lions 6-5, as Yang Suk-hwan, recently acquired in a trade from the Twins, went 3-for-4 with a solo home run.

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