Who will win the 2024 Korean Series: the Kia Tigers or the Samsung Lions?
It will be 31 years since the two teams last met in the Korean Series in 1993. It’s the same legendary series where Park Chung-shik faced off against Sun Dong-yeol and the two teams tied 1-1 after 15 innings.
These are two of Yeonghonam’s most prestigious clubs that are responsible for the popularity of baseball. Kia boasts a dazzling batting lineup with a team batting average of 3.1 and a team OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.827. Kim Do-young, who has 38 home runs and 40 stolen bases, and Park Chan-ho, Kim Sun-bin, and Socrates all hit .300.
Samsung’s batting lineup is no slouch either. It has a strong presence of long-hitting power that makes the most of its home stadium, Lions Park. The team is first in home runs (185) and third in long balls (4-for-2.8). Against the LG Twins in the playoffs, he blasted nine home runs to tear up the opposing mound.
At the forefront of both teams’ league-leading bats are Kim Do-young and Lee Jae-hyun, the “same-age giant” third basemen. They were the first two regional selections in the 2022 rookie draft. They are the “last first-round picks” to represent both provinces.
Kim is the favorite for MVP of this year’s season.
He has been devastating all over the field, with a batting average of .347 (3rd), 38 home runs (2nd), 109 RBIs (tied for 7th), and 40 stolen bases (4th). Especially in the Korean Series, Kim’s “stolen base seal” was broken, as he had been restrained due to injury concerns. “He can do everything except diving at first base,” said Kia manager Lee Beom-ho.
All they need now is to win the Korean Series to complete the perfect season. It will be the first championship in seven years for Kia since 2017. 토토사이트 It was a year of “captain leadership” by Lee Bum-ho, a novice but prepared manager.
Kim Young-woong’s shoulders are heavy. Koo Ja-rook, the team’s home run leader and best hitter, suffered a knee injury during the playoffs. He received emergency treatment in Japan, but he’s not expected to start for now. Samsung head coach Park Jin-man has hinted at using a substitute. In the end, Kim Young-woong will have to do. Despite batting just 2-for-5 this season, Kim has established himself as a center fielder with 28 home runs and 79 RBIs.
In the four games of the playoffs, he went 4-for-13 with two home runs and one triple.
His first hit of the postseason came in the fourth inning of Game 1 against LG’s Choi Won-tae. In Game 2, he hit the game-winning solo shot in the bottom of the second inning. He was the only Samsung hitter to record a hit in all games. The star power of his bat was on full display.
He also played solid defense with no errors. He was solid at third base throughout the playoffs, producing runs.
The fate of the Korean Series rested on the shoulders of two players of the same age who will be responsible for the national third base position in the future.