(LEAD) 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)

▲ 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)

(LEAD) baseball-preseason

(LEAD) Perennial doormat tops KBO preseason

(ATTN: ADDS latest stats, details throughout)

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 played to a 3-3 tie in the nightcap, and neither would have caught the Eagles even with a victory.

The regular season opens on Saturday.

During the offseason, the Eagles hired a new manager, Carlos Subero, and overhauled their coaching staff 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 last time the Eagles posted the best preseason record was in 2001. That year, they finished the regular season in fourth place and lost in the first round of the postseason.

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.

The Landers still finished last in the league at 1-5-1.

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 Wiz finished at 5-1-1, the second-best winning percentage behind the Eagles.

The Wiz made the postseason for the first time in 2020 and will try to make it two in a row this year despite losing league MVP Mel Rojas Jr., who signed with the Japanese club Hanshin Tigers during the winter.

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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