It was a year that started like magic and ended like a mirage.
KT Wiz, who won the championship in the 2026 professional baseball regular season with an overwhelming record of 90 wins, 49 losses, 5 draws, and a winning percentage of 0.647, failed to overcome the final Korean Series (KS, 4 wins in 7 games) and failed to challenge for the second championship since its founding.
KT ended the 2026 season by succumbing to the Samsung Lions with 1 win and 4 losses, despite being evaluated as having a physical and power advantage.
KT, which suffered a major injury, plans to focus on reorganizing its team and reorganizing its strength in the off-season.
Above all, it is most important to thoroughly analyze the causes of failure revealed in the short-term war and take the appropriate steps again to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
We need to find the cause of the starting pitchers' sudden lack of ball control in KS, the fielders' batting and defense problems, and the heavily depressed team atmosphere.
Through this, we must re-establish our hopes and goals for the new season.
◇ 2026, the year that started to change everything
KT, which failed to advance to the postseason by finishing 6th in the regular league in the 2025 season, underwent major changes ahead of the 2026 season.
Central hitter Kang Baek-ho qualified as a free agent (FA) and transferred to the Hanwha Eagles, and veteran infielders such as Hwang Jae-gyun and Oh Jae-il retired.
KT filled the gap by recruiting external free agents.
KT, which needed a dugout leader, recruited outfielder Kim Hyun-soo and also signed Han Seung-taek to relieve the burden on starting catcher Jang Seong-woo, who was having difficulty playing full-time.
In addition, KT, which ranked last season in this category with 48 stolen bases, decided that it needed a top hitter and brought in Choi Won-jun.
All foreign players were also replaced.
The team consisted of new faces, including foreign pitchers Matt Sauer and Caleb Boschley, foreign hitters Sam Hilliard, and Asian quarterman Koki Sugimoto.
KT coach Lee Kang-cheol expressed his determination at the media day before the opening, saying, “I will approach the game with the mindset of being reborn and restoring my honor.”
◇ The result of the reform is sexually... Victory despite numerous crises
KT got through the 2026 season based on smooth communication and quick decision-making between the front office and the field.
The first half of the season was difficult due to injuries and poor performance of foreign players.
Hilliard struggled, unable to adapt to the wide strike zone of the KBO League's Automatic Pitching System (ABS).
Foreign pitcher Boschley was removed from the lineup in early June due to a shoulder injury, and Sauer performed poorly with an ERA of 4.88 in 18 games.
KT increased their chances of winning by replacing Boschley and Sauer with Logan Allen and Davis Daniel, respectively.
Hilliard, who had faith in him, overcame the crisis and was reborn as the best foreign hitter.
KT overcame the crisis as native starting pitchers Go Young-pyo and So Hyong-jun held on well in the starting rotation and Park Young-hyun blocked the back door.
In particular, the performance of the three external free agent recruits was dazzling. KT was in 3rd place with a winning percentage of 0.573 until June.
◇ 1st place in the regular season created by management’s baseball
KT has been on a steep rise since July, when competing teams began to fail due to player injuries and physical strength issues.
In 19 games played in July, they recorded 14 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw, and a win rate of 0.778, and in 32 games after September, they recorded a whopping 24 wins, 6 losses, 2 draws, and a win rate of 0.800.
The batting lineup exploded with Choi Won-jun, who attempted to set the record for the most hits in a season, and Hilliard, who performed as the league's MVP (MVP), and the five starting pitchers worked like cogs and took off at a high altitude.
KT confirmed its regular season win early on, beating second-place Samsung by eight games.
The reason for winning the regular season was Manager Lee Kang-cheol's thorough management of baseball.
Coach Lee boldly manages pitchers from the beginning of the season in preparation for the summer when players' stamina declines.
This is the background to KT’s strong performance every summer.
This season, So Hyun-jun, Bae Seong-seong, and Oh Won-seok received thorough management, and they showed their strength at the end of the season.
Underhand reliever Kim Jeong-woon, who was discharged from the military, and Son Dong-hyun, who regained his pitching ability, also contributed a lot.
KT confirmed the regular season championship early on based on overwhelming performance.
The day the Wizards celebrated their victory was October 5th, almost a month before the first game of KS (November 3rd).
◇ Park Kyung-soo's crutch fighting spirit in 2021, Ahn Hyun-min's acro perm in 2026... A disaster caused by pride
It was the second time that KT won the regular season championship and advanced directly to KS, following the 2021 season in which it won the combined championship.
The situation was different from five years ago.
KT was competing with Samsung for first place in the 2021 season, but had to play a tiebreaker match for first place as it was tied with Samsung in winning percentage until the last game of the regular season.
At that time, KT had a famous match that would remain in KBO League history.
Foreign pitcher William Cuevas, who took the mound again after two days off, fought back and won 1-0.
In Doosan and KS, then-captain Park Kyung-soo (current KT coach) showed off his skills day after day, and even after injuring his leg during defense, he came out to the dugout on crutches to ignite the team's will.
This year's KT players' attitude toward winning the championship was different from five years ago.
At KT, which took an overwhelming step at the end of the season, a relaxed atmosphere was felt everywhere.
Leading hitter Ahn Hyun-min also appeared with an unconventional hairstyle, the 'Acro Perm', which he intended to show at the All-Star Game.
There was a complacent feeling among the KT players that they could easily defeat Samsung, which was exhausted through the playoffs (PO).
◇ KT’s 2026 KS to reflect on… Will today’s tears become tomorrow’s hope?
KT's 2026 KS was a nightmare itself.
They won 8-7 in the first game, but the game did not meet expectations.
At the time, Samsung's starting rotation was broken due to having to play PO until the 5th game, and with Choi Won-tae, who was underperforming, starting, KT started the game in an advantageous situation.
However, KT gave up 7 points after the 7th inning, leading 8-0, and won by one point.
KT took the first round of KS, but it served as an opportunity to instill confidence in Samsung that they could do it.
KT's complacent atmosphere was revealed through its performance from the second game of KS.
KT lost 2-3 in the second game of KS, scoring only 2 points despite getting 11 hits and 3 walks.
In particular, in the 12th inning of overtime, they had the worst performance, giving up the winning run due to a critical defensive error.
In Game 3, trusted starter So Hyun-Jun gave up 5 walks and 4 runs in 2 innings, resulting in a helpless loss. In Game 4, starter Logan gave up 4 walks and 6 runs in the first inning, allowing a total of 12 walks and 5-10 losses.
And in the 5th game of KS, they were unable to find a clue to the turnaround and ended up hanging their heads in the end.
It became difficult for KT, which collapsed in KS despite dominating the regular season, to avoid criticism from fans.
Still, baseball continues. KT must thoroughly review what problems were revealed during the KS preparation process and prepare for the new season.
First of all, it seems likely that the two foreign pitchers who did not meet expectations in KS will be replaced.
Outfielders Kim Min-hyuk and Bae Jeong-dae, and infielder Kim Sang-su qualify as free agents.
Strengthening the home power is also an urgent priority.
This season, Seong-Woo Jang has shown problems with his stamina, and it is burdensome to entrust many games to just one Seung-Taek Han.
Coincidentally, major catchers such as Park Dong-won, Kim Tae-gun, and Choi Jae-hoon are appearing as free agents in the Stove League.
However, considering KT's club management policy, it seems likely that they will pursue a recruitment strategy that emphasizes efficiency rather than investing large amounts of money.
Attention is being paid to how KT, whose glory in the regular season ended in a nightmare for KS, will accept this failure and change.
