Doosan Bears set sights on three-peat

By Baek Byung-yeul

With the new baseball season right around the corner, managers from the 10 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) teams expressed their high hopes for the league’s 36th season at a press meeting Monday.

After completing the preseason Sunday, each team will begin its 144-game schedule starting Friday in five stadiums nationwide. The defending champion Doosan Bears will play the Hanwha Eagles in Seoul; the NC Dinos will meet the Lotte Giants in Changwon; the Nexen Heroes will host the LG Twins at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul; the Samsung Lions will play the Kia Tigers in Daegu; and the SK Wyverns will host the KT Wiz in Incheon.

The Bears’ manager Kim Tae-hyung, who sat in the middle of the stage as the champion’s manager, said the Seoul-based team will begin its quest for a three-peat.

“We’ve prepared a lot for a three-peat this season. We will do our best to sit right here again,” Kim said during the KBO Media Day in Seoul.

When asked who will be the starting pitcher for the opening game against the Eagles, Kim answered without any hesitation that he will start last season’s MVP pitcher Dustin Nippert, who recorded 22 wins and three losses last year.

“Our team’s ace pitcher Nippert will start the game. We had been good against the Eagles last season. As I believe in our players, I think we can win the opening game,” Kim added.

Including Kim, every manager of the league said they will start their imported pitchers Friday.

Kim Sung-keun, manager of the Eagles simply said he will start “back number 42,” who is his team’s new foreign pitcher Carlos Villanueva. The Daejeon-based team signed the Dominican pitcher, who recorded 51 wins, 55 losses and 11 saves with an ERA of 4.27 in the majors, to a one-year contract worth $1.5 million.

“Last season, we were short of 0.2 percent to reach the post-season. To play baseball in autumn this year, we found out what we were lacking,” the Eagles manager said.

The Twins’ manager Yang Sang-moon urged other team’s skippers and players to play more aggressively against the reigning champion Bears.

“There will be no development in a league dominated by one team. I think every manager and player of the nine teams should put forth their best effort ever,” Yang said. He added he will start Henry Sosa; while Jang Jeong-seok, the new manager of the Heroes said he will start American lefty Andy Van Hekken against the Twins, Friday.

The Incheon-based Wyverns will start its right-hander Merrill Kelly, while the Suwon-based Wiz will counter with first-year American pitcher Donn Roach.

In Incheon, two teams will clash under new managers. After missing the postseason last year under former manger Kim Yong-hee, the Wyverns signed former Kansas City Royals manager Trey Hillman as its new manager. The Wiz, who finished in last place for the last two years, also brought in former Bears manager Kim Jin-wook as a new skipper.

Hillman said he and his teams are ready to give many exciting nights to their fans.

“It’s an honor for me to be here representing the SK Wyverns as a foreign manager. I want to thank the other managers for being professional and welcoming me.

“We want to be the most professional we can be for our fans, for SK and for the game of baseball. We also want to have as many exciting nights for our fans at home and on the road as possible,” he said.

The Wiz’s manager Kim also expressed his desire to finish higher in the standings this season saying his team will have a winning series in the first three-gamer against the Wyverns.

In Daegu, Zach Petrick of the Lions will have his KBO debut against the Tigers, who will counter with its ace pitcher Hector Noesi, who had 15 wins and five losses in his first KBO season last year.

The Daegu-based team will have its first official games under new manager Kim Han-soo against the Tigers. After failing to make the postseason for the first time in seven years, the Lions promoted hitting coach Kim to manager. “We were sluggish last year, but we will try to finish higher in the standings this year with more aggressive play,” he said.

In Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, the Dinos, runner-up to the Bears last season, will start first-year right hander Jeff Manship while the Giants will have second-year lefty Brooks Raley, who had eight wins and 10 losses in 2016.