Wiz manager demands more from star slugger with team trailing in Korean Series
KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-chul watches his team in action against the Samsung Lions during Game 2 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Yonhap
DAEGU — With his KT Wiz trailing the Samsung Lions 2-1 in the best-of-seven Korean Series, manager Lee Kang-chul on Saturday demanded more from his All-Star slugger Ahn Hyun-min.
After three games, Ahn is just 2-for-13 with four strikeouts and two walks at the plate. He won the 2025 Rookie of the Year award in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) after hitting 22 homers and driving in 80 runs. This year, despite being slowed by injuries, Ahn still smacked 14 homers in 94 games.
In both years, he had an on-base percentage of over .440, including his league-leading mark of .448 in 2025.
His .267 on-base percentage in the Korean Series leaves a lot to be desired for the Wiz, especially because Ahn has batted in front of Sam Hilliard, the regular-season RBI leader with 139, who is also leading the Wiz with three RBIs in the Korean Series.
"Hilliard is in great form, but we need Hyun-min to get on base more often in front of him to give him RBI opportunities," Lee said before Game 4 of the series at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. "Because Hyun-min is not reaching base much, our offense has lacked flow. We had seven hits last night and still lost (5-1)."
After putting Ahn in the No. 3 spot right in front of Hilliard in the first two games, Lee moved veteran Kim Hyun-soo from No. 5 to No. 3 for Friday's game while slotting Ahn into the second spot.
When those changes didn't work, Lee went back to the Ahn-Hilliard-Kim trio for the middle of the order. He will have a new No. 2 hitter in outfielder Jang Jin-hyuk, who has gone 2-for-2 in a limited role in this series.
"This is a really critical game for us. If we win tonight, then the momentum will shift, and it will be a brand new series for us," Lee said. "Hopefully, Jang Jin-hyuk will get on base for the big bats behind him, and we can score more runs that way."