After tying the record for most consecutive wins by a Bears manager in his first year, Doosan head coach Seung-yeop Lee gives all the credit to his coaching staff and players.안전놀이터
After a disappointing ninth-place finish last year, Doosan finished the first half of the 2023 season on a high note with 42 wins, one draw, 36 losses and three ties. The team bounced back and forth between fifth and sixth place at the start of the season due to a rash of injuries and other setbacks, but a nine-game winning streak, starting with a victory over Lotte in Ulsan on July 1, propelled them to third place, four games behind second-place SSG. Doosan, which had been worried about its 5 percent win rate all season, has moved into a position to overtake second place.
“We started at -3, and I thought we shouldn’t fall further from there,” said coach Lee Seung-yeop after the game against SSG in Incheon was canceled due to rain on the 13th. If we get to -10, we have to win 10 games in a row to get to 5. “So we declared an all-out war, and the players responded well and prepared, so we won nine games in a row. The players’ desire to win was strong, so there were many good performances during the winning streak.”
With his 12th win, Lee tied the all-time record for most consecutive wins in a debut season for a Bears head coach. It was a moment to stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Kim Young-duk (OB, May 22, 1982 at Citizen Samsung Electronics – June 12 at MBC) and Kim Sung-geun (OB, April 17, 1984 at Sammi – April 28 at Guduk Lotte).
At the time, Kim Young-duk was the head coach of OB after serving as the head coach of Hanil Bank, Jang Chung-go, and Buk Il-Go, while Kim Sung-geun also became a professional club manager after gaining leadership experience as the head coach of IBK, Chungam Go, Shin Il-Go, and OB’s pitching coach. Lee’s nine-game winning streak is all the more remarkable because he became the first manager at Doosan.
“I didn’t do well, the players did well. The credit goes to the players. It’s not just my record, it’s the record of my players and the team as a whole. We had a tough time until June, and then we picked up the pace.” “When a rookie coach has a winning streak and it’s called a record, it’s not really a record. It doesn’t compare to the greats,” he said humbly.
“The first time I went down to Daegu after taking over, we lost two games in a row by one run, and then we were winning 5-2 against Hanwha before losing the game in reverse. I think the pitching change was wrong, and it was hard because I had to take all the blame. The bench was more responsible than the players for the late-game reversal. At that time, it was mentally tough. What I did well was to judge the people around me. What I didn’t do well is my responsibility.”
As for the players who were honored in the first half, Lee mentioned Kim Myung-shin, who played all-weather regardless of whether he was in the chase group, long relief, or the must-win group, and the veteran players. Lee said, “As the reporters know, Kim Myung-shin struggled. All the veterans struggled. Yang Ji-joo also came back and looked good, and Kim Jae-ho did a good job after going to the second team in the beginning. Heo Kyung-min also did his best despite not being fully fit. I’m very grateful for the veterans,” he said sincerely.
Kim had a message of encouragement for Kim Jae-hwan, the No. 4 hitter who batted just 2-for-4 with seven home runs in the first half. Lee said, “I’m sure he must have been feeling a lot of pressure after his performance wasn’t as good as he thought it would be. He had no choice but to continue playing in a slump.” “When he plays well, our batting lineup becomes more complete. I will continue to help him find his best swing.”