The reason behind the professional baseball Samsung Lions regaining the Korean Series (KS) crown after 12 years is the innovation in club management that boldly removed past inertia.
It is evaluated that they achieved their 9th championship in total by breaking away from the old method of buying star players with a large ransom, improving their constitution by breaking the pure-blood system, systematic training based on data, and a 'one team' spirit that puts the team ahead of the individual.
The first noticeable change is the improvement in constitution, which breaks the conventional wisdom.
Samsung broke down the internal pure-blood mentality that it had maintained for a long time and deployed talent and resources to the right positions to increase team value.
The starting point was the appointment of general manager Lee Jong-yeol in 2023.
General manager Lee, who played for the LG Twins franchise for 19 seasons, is the first outside baseball general manager in the history of the Samsung team.
It was an unconventional appointment that only looked at professionalism without being limited by origin or background.
After diagnosing the team from an objective outside perspective, General Manager Lee improved the front office management structure and made customized investments in weak positions to lay the foundation for reconstruction.
Coach Park Jin-man, who commanded the field, tactically maximized the value of the resources the club had invested.
A representative example is the use of Choi Hyung-woo (43), the oldest hitter, who returned to his former team for up to 2.6 billion won in two years ahead of this season.
Choi Hyung-woo not only took the center of the lineup with his unique sophisticated hitting mechanism, but also played left field defense throughout the fall baseball season, recording a batting average of 0.357 in the Korean Series (5 hits, 2 RBIs in 14 at-bats).
It was a solution created by Manager Park and Choi Hyeong-woo together so that Koo Ja-wook, who injured his thigh at the end of the regular season, could focus on being a designated hitter.
Hyung-Woo Choi belatedly confessed, “It hurt like my whole body was going to collapse,” as he played defense throughout the fall baseball season for the first time in a long time, but without his dedication, Samsung would not have been able to complete its first championship in 12 years.
Foreign pitcher replacement and mound management were also successful.
Samsung released Matt Manning, who left due to injury during spring training, replaced short-term replacement Jack O'Rourkelin, and then recruited right-handed pitcher Chris Fedek from the Major League last August.
Fedek performed well in all weathers, switching between starting and bullpen positions in fall baseball.
He started the second game of the Korean Series and laid the foundation for a counterattack by allowing one run in seven innings, and in the fifth game, which confirmed the championship, he took the mound in relief in the sixth inning and pitched the last four innings with a perfect pitch, hitting 12 batters in a row (five strikeouts), becoming a pitcher.
Fedek's Korean Series performance is 2 games, 1 save, and an average ERA of 0.82 in 11 innings.
The second driving force is the in-house training system solidified by data.
Samsung introduced biomechanics measurement equipment and Driveline, an advanced pitching training program, to the second team, laying the foundation for promising players to quickly establish themselves as first-team players.
The young pitchers cultivated through a scientific training system showed their true value in this Korean Series, where closer Kim Jae-yoon was missing due to injury.
Jang Chan-hee, a 19-year-old high school graduate rookie who started in Game 4, which was a watershed moment in the series, broke the opponent's momentum with a surprise pitching performance, allowing 1 run in 4 innings.
Jaehee Lee, who took over the mound in the 5th inning with the bases loaded, pitched 2⅔ innings with no hits, no walks, no walks, and 4 strikeouts, earning a relief win and the Daily Most Valuable Player (MVP) in Game 4.
In addition, left-arm bullpen Lee Seung-min (3 games, 3⅓ innings, no runs, 1 hold) and second-year left-arm Bae Chan-seung (3 games, 2⅓ innings, no runs, 1 save) have kept their backs strong with an ERA of 0.00.
Coach Jin-man Park, who took over the leadership of the 1st team after serving as the coach of the Futures (2nd team) in 2022, achieved a harmony between old and new with veterans by boldly using new talents he had noticed since his time in the 2nd team.
The factor that hit the nail on the head was the team spirit of the players united under the slogan, ‘There is no player greater than the team.’
Outfielder Park Seung-gyu awakened the team's fighting spirit with his dedication to running to third base without hesitation for the team's victory instead of achieving a personal record when the Cycling Heat had only a double left during the regular season.
Throughout the Korean Series, the phrase ‘No player is greater than the team’ was written on the whiteboard of the Samsung dugout at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu.
Park Seung-gyu, who claimed to be a 'special supporting actor' even on the fall stage, played a big role in the 5 games of the Korean Series with a batting average of 0.500 (8 hits in 16 at-bats), 1 home run, and 4 RBIs.
This spirit of sacrifice led to the fighting spirit of captain Koo Ja-wook and ace Won Tae-in.
Koo Ja-wook, who was diagnosed with a thigh muscle injury for 12 weeks just before the postseason, returned with a strong will and hit all five games of the Korean Series, hitting 0.500 (10 hits in 20 at-bats), 1 home run, and 6 RBIs, winning his first championship ring and series MVP at the same time.
Won Tae-in also switched between bullpen and starting positions depending on the team's circumstances, contributing to the Korean Series with 1 win in 2 games and an average ERA of 1.35 in 6⅔ innings.
Despite the negative news of a series of injuries to key players, the solidarity that filled each other's vacancies and practical team management combined to complete the rebuilding of the Lion Corps.
