Giant of Advance' Once Again? Only One Fall Baseball Lead in 12 Years, Back Home After 6 Years
Giant of Advance' Once Again? Only One Fall Baseball Lead in 12 Years, Back Home After 6 Years
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Only once in 12 years. This is the number of baseball seasons that Lotte Giants played in the fall. The main player returned to Busan.토토사이트
Lotte officially announced on the 5th that former coach Cho Won-woo will be with him as the head coach of the first team of the 2025 season.
The years 2008 and 2012 were the golden years of Lotte's baseball, the so-called "Roister Era" (Jerry Rooster + Manager Yang Seung-ho). Although he failed to make it to the Korean Series, he advanced to the fall baseball league for the fifth consecutive year, showing off his stable and strong performance. He also advanced to the semi-playoffs three times and two times.
For the next 12 years, Lotte's entry into fall baseball was only once in 2017. At that time, the head coach was Cho Won-woo.
It was a rough season with two foreign pitchers being kicked out. However, Brooks Raley's sense of stability added to Cho's explosive potential, Park Se-woong and Kim Won-joong's growth, Lindblom's return performance, and Son Seung-rak's finishing touch. The lineup was also highlighted by the growth of Lee Dae-ho and Jeon Jun-woo who finished his military service. In the second half alone, he recorded 39 wins, one draw and 18 losses (68 percent win rate), jumping from the 7th place to the 3rd place.
The semi-playoff that rose was the "Nakdong River Derby" against the NC Dinos. Lotte was eliminated with two wins and three losses after a bloody battle in Game 5. Although it was a series that was pushed back from overall strength amid the trend of being dragged overall, Lotte's lack of experience was revealed and fans' enthusiastic support for the fall baseball in a long time made people look forward to the next season.
However, the team has failed to meet the demand until this year. The team has faced setbacks in fall baseball for the seventh consecutive year. Manager Kim Tae-hyung, who has made inroads into the Korean Series for seven consecutive years, failed to bring Lotte to the postseason in his first year in charge. After the season's end, Lotte has been stepping up efforts to strengthen its capabilities by recruiting pitching coach Kim Sang-jin.
In addition, the recruitment of head coach Cho Won-woo has been confirmed. Cho, who signed an additional three-year contract after joining the team in 2016, left the team after the end of the 2018 season due to sluggish performance the following year. Since then, he served as the second-tier head coach and the first-tier bench-senior coach at SSG Landers.
The recruitment of a big-name coach who once left the team, is an unprecedented and major change for Lotte. It could be an event symbolizing Lotte that has changed at the same time as Kim Tae-hyung's extraordinary distribution.
Cho Won-woo, the head coach, is an authentic Busan man who graduated from Suyeong Elementary School, Choryang Middle School and Busan High School. He seems to be returning to his hometown for the first time in a while.
Cho Won-woo, who joined the Ssangbangwool Raiders in 1994, started his coaching career as a defensive coach for the Hanwha Eagles in 2009 after his retirement. Notably, Cho was widely recognized for his ability as a professional defense coach in the outfield. With Cho's return, Lotte will likely further strengthen its performance in the 2025 season.