Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop also achieved his dream of becoming the winning coach. He took the helm of Nexen Heroes (currently Kiwoom) in 2013, and enjoyed the feat of winning the title as a coach for the first time in 10 years.
He has risen to the position he has long dreamed of, but he has no satisfaction. In a recent telephone conversation with Newsis, Yeom said that his 2023 “manager Yeom Kyung-yeop” was only about 75 points. It was a close score to the “winning coach,” but Yeom was cool-headed.
“The results came out, but there were some regrets in the process,” he pointed out. “The winning group, including Ko Woo-suk and Jung Woo-young, was shaken, and Kang Hyo-jong, Lee Min-ho and Kim Yoon-sik, who had three to five starters, failed to play the full season properly. On the other side, Lee Jae-won, Song Chan-ui and Son Ho-young were not fostered. That’s why I had a very difficult time in the early part of the season,” he recalled.
It was not a meaningless hardship. Through this process, LG showcased growth of new faces and even grabbed a championship trophy.
“When the parts we prepared were not prepared, new players appeared and we were able to withstand the season. Park Myung-geun, Yoo Young-chan, Baek Seung-hyun, and Ham Deok-ju were made because of difficulties,” coach Yeom said. “Thanks to the newly created card, we can start 2024 more solidly.”
“We have to do our best to reach 85 points in 2024, while we have 75 points in 2023,” he said. “This is the beginning.”
Having achieved his team’s first goal of winning the championship, Yeom’s eyes are now on the “dynasties.” His next goal is to keep his position as the champion for a long time as LG, which has risen to the ranks of strong teams by dominating the KBO League.
It is very rare to win consecutive titles in the KBO League recently. After the Doosan Bears won the Korean Series for two consecutive years from 2015 to 2016, the winning team changed every year from 2017 to 2023. It is not easy to achieve consecutive losses.
However, Yeom did not hide his confidence. “We gained the biggest thing by winning the championship,” he said. “We have no hesitation and fear, and the question mark has been changed to an exclamation point. Starting with confidence is a condition that LG can become stronger.”
This is because he proved his potential by winning the championship. He also cut off the questionable gaze he had always followed toward LG.
Coach Yeom said, “In the past, if I was a candidate for the championship who was suspected of ‘can I do it?’ now I am expected to be a team that can win two consecutive games,” adding, “I can fight in a more comfortable state psychologically than before.”
BY: 토토사이트 순위