Giants Headed Backed to Playoffs
By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
The 2009 season has been anything but boring for Lotte Giants fans. And on Wednesday, the Busan-based team's season was officially extended, and they didn't even have to lift a finger. A 7-4 victory by the SK Wyverns over the Samsung Lions means the Giants are going to the Korea Baseball Organization playoffs for the second straight year.
With only one game remaining, the Giants have clinched fourth place with a 66-66 record. The Lions loss dropped them to 64-67 with just two games left. The Giants hold the tiebreaker based on their winning record against the Lions head-to-head.
The path to the playoffs has been a roller-coaster ride almost from Day 1.
The Giants struggled in the first month and some believed manager Jeron Kennis Royster's best days were behind him.
While never dropping too far out of playoff contention, the Busan team had trouble turning things around, especially when injuries started to take their toll.
The team's ace, veteran right hander Son Min-han, missed the first part of the season with a shoulder injury. Son's fellow starters Jang Won-jun and Song Seung-jun also failed to record wins in their first four appearances.
The team's batters didn't fare much better. The cleanup trio of Hong Sung-heon, Lee Dae-ho and Gustavo Karim Garcia couldn't get a hit and the team's batting average fell to the league's lowest.
The team was dealt another blow when Cho Sung-hwan suffered a broken orbital bone when he was hit by a pitch on April 22.
As their struggles worsened, the Giants officially hit rock bottom - last place - on June 8.
But Son and Cho returned to the lineup soon after and the team finally started to turn things around.
They reeled off 31 wins and 15 defeats in June and July, including an eight-game winning streak.
They climbed all the way to fourth spot in the middle of July, where they stayed until the middle of August when the Lions began their charge.
A five-game losing streak by the Giants allowed the Daegu-based team to move in to playoff position.
But a six-game win streak, which came to an end with a loss Tuesday, solidified their hold on fourth position.
Before Royster joined the team prior to last season, Giants fans came up with a symbolic number that explained the team's struggles to that point - 888-8577.
While it may look like a phone number, it's actually a compilation of the team's rankings from 2001 to 2007, which included eighth-place finishes for four straight seasons.
And after seven difficult seasons for Giants fans, their loyalty and love for the Giants is paying off, as they will now advance to the playoffs for the second straight year.
Royster had high praise for the crowds at Sajik Baseball Stadium.
"The Giants fans are the most fantastic ever in the world. They are more enthusiastic than any other teams' fans in the Major League," the American manager said.
After their final regular season game against the LG Twins on Friday, they will begin the first round of the playoffs against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, Tuesday.