Lions manager tells players to have fun in do-or-die KBO postseason game
Samsung Lions manager Park Jin-man watches the game from the dugout during Game 4 of the KBO playoffs against the Kia Tigers, Gwangju, Friday. Yonhap
Samsung Lions manager Park Jin-man tries not to give too many pep talks before big games, lest his players start getting inside their own heads.
Ahead of a win-or-go-home South Korean baseball postseason game Sunday against the Kia Tigers, Park saved a simple message.
"I always tell them to have fun and play with energy," Park said in his pregame media availability at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. "I also tell them not to get intimidated by the moment. I think they are already doing so well, and if I give them any other message, they will start thinking too much on the field. In postseason games, you have to keep things simple."
The best-of-five series is now tied at two games apiece. The Lions had a chance to close out the Tigers in Game 4 on Friday on the road in the southwestern city of Gwangju. But they blew a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Tigers capitalized on a fielding error by third baseman Kim Young-woong and scored three times en route to a 4-2 victory.
Despite Kim's costly error, Park said he had no qualms about putting him back in the lineup.
"I did not think twice about it. We put together a lineup that we thought would give us the best chance to win, and Kim Young-woong is our third baseman," Park said, adding that he did not pull aside the player for any special talk.
The winner of this game will advance to the Korean Series, which starts Tuesday against the regular-season champions KT Wiz.
The Lions will see Tigers starter Adam Oller for the second time in this series Sunday. They got five runs on five hits off the American right-hander in Game 2 last Monday, adding to Oller's misery in Daegu.
Oller has surrendered 13 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings in one regular-season start and one postseason start combined.
"We have to get to him early and we have some good history against him," Park said. "We have to score the first run early to build some momentum. The key for us is to knock him out of the game as early as possible."