KIA "I've never even met former coach Kim Tae-hyung." Attention to Kim Jong-kook's future, will the reorganization of front desk and coaches come first?
Can KIA Tigers coach Kim Jong-guk bet on the final year of the contract. Amid rumors of a manager's replacement in some parts of the baseball world, the KIA club is weighing on staying in office until the "current point." It is more likely that the reorganization of the front desk and coach will occur significantly.
KIA beat the NC Dinos in succession in the final season home series held on October 16 and 17 to achieve a successive ending. KIA, which had virtually failed to advance to the 5th round due to its defeat against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on the 13th, finished the 2023 season in sixth place in the league with 73 wins, two draws and 69 losses.
KIA has been evaluated as a team with a competitive edge in the fifth round ahead of this season. However, along with the evil spirit of injury that continued from the beginning of the season, the sluggishness of the foreign pitching staff was a fatal blow. Na Sung-bum and Kim Do-young were absent due to injuries for most of the first half, and Anderson and Medina foreign pitcher duo also failed to leave an impressive performance.
KIA made a drastic move to replace both foreign pitchers during the season. As a result, Panoni (6 wins, 3 losses, 4.26 ERA) and Sanchez (4 wins, 4 losses, 5.94 ERA) also left many regrets. The lack of a foreign ace overwhelming the opponent with his ball power was inevitably a major obstacle to the operation of KIA's starting lineup.
After Na Sung-bum and Kim Do-young returned, the team's batting lineup rose in the summer, but the evil spirit of injury hit KIA one after another at the end of September. Outfielders Na Sung-beom (hamstring), Choi Hyung-woo (clavicle fracture), and infielder Park Chan-ho (spinal fracture) left together within a short period of time. The weight of the team's batting lineup was also significantly reduced when the three main fielders were missing.
Nevertheless, KIA continued its tough five-way race by holding out with its gums. Head coach Kim Jong-guk said, "With the main players missing due to injuries, the remaining players did so well that they were able to come to the end of the season." Among the players playing now, there are quite a few players who play with minor injuries. Still, I am very grateful as a coach to see them unite and win until the end," he said.
Under head coach Kim Jong-guk, KIA failed to advance to the postseason in fifth place in the 2022 season league, eliminated the wild card game, and sixth in the 2023 season league. Now, head coach Kim Jong-kook will mark the last year of his three-year contract in the 2024 season. As there was some "win now" direction, interest in coach Kim Jong-guk's future seems to have grown amid a flurry of regretful views on the results of the last two seasons.
Recently, some in the baseball community said that the KIA club has contacted the new manager's candidate group in line with manager Kim Jong-guk's future. In particular, former coach Kim Tae-hyung, who is also in the group of candidates for Lotte Giants' new manager, seems to be strongly connected to KIA. 스포츠토토
However, KIA is known to focus more on retaining coach Kim Jong-guk, who still has one year left on his contract as of October 18. An official from KIA told MK Sports on the 18th, "There has been no internal discussion about coach Kim Jong-guk's future." Rumors have circulated outside that he recently met with former coach Kim Tae-hyung, but the team's leadership has never been in such contact. For now, head coach Kim Jong-kook plans to focus on preparing for the Okinawa wrap-up camp, which will be held from November, he said.
Unless the parent group makes a big decision by the end of October, there will be a big reorganization at the front and coaching staff first, apart from the issue of the coach's future. As a result of MK Sports coverage, it is known that there will be a big wave of change in the first-tier coaching staff along with supplementing the scouting part. On top of that, infielder Kim Sun-bin, who is likely to go to the FA market, a multi-year contract with veteran Choi Hyung-woo, and the recruitment of external FA and the second draft are also big tasks to be solved soon. Attention is focusing on whether KIA will be able to show fans hope for the 2024 season this winter.