Bears manager not relaxing even with club firmly in KBO postseason position
Doosan Bears manager Kim Won-hyong, third from right, greets his players after the team's 3-1 win over the KT Wiz in a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 25. Yonhap
With the regular season winding down in South Korean baseball, the Doosan Bears are comfortably holding down the fifth and final postseason spot.
With 29 games left before they played the Kiwoom Heroes on Friday, the Bears held an eight-game lead over their closest pursuers, NC Dinos, with a win-loss-tie record of 59-52-4. At 49-58-2, the Dinos have six games in hand on the Bears, but it will still be an uphill climb for them to make up ground.
However, Bears manager Kim Won-hyong said Friday he will not let his guard down until his team officially clinches a postseason ticket.
"I can never seem to relax. I think that is both my strength and my weakness," Kim said at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. "I have never been able to relax, either as a player or as a manager. I would love to be less anxious. No matter how many games we are ahead of our competition, I want to keep winning games."
Kim said losing some key players during the upcoming Asian Games will have a significant impact on how the Bears' season plays out.
Each Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) was asked to send up to three players to the national team for the Asian Games baseball tournament, which runs from Sept. 21 to 27. National team members will report to training camp Sept. 14, but the KBO regular season will not pause during the continental competition.
The Bears will be particularly hit hard, as their two best starting pitchers, Gwak Been and Choi Min-seok, and their batting average leader, Park Jun-soon, have been called up for national team duty.
"My anxiety level will go up a few notches during the Asian Games," manager Kim said. "This is no time to relax."
Asked if he had a specific ranking position he would like to attain, Kim said he will keep that goal to himself.
"I believe that we are capable of being in a better position," Kim said. "That is why I can never take my foot off the pedal."