As of the 26th, the LG Twins (29-1, 16-0), SSG Landers (28-1, 16-0), and Lotte Giants (26-15) are within one game of each other at the top of the standings, while the Doosan Bears (22-1, 21-0), NC Dinos (22-22), and KIA Tigers (20-21) are within one game of each other in fourth through sixth place. Four teams, the Samsung Lions (18-25), Kiwoom Heroes (19-28), KT Wiz (16-2) and Hanwha Eagles (16-3), are at the bottom of the standings. The difference between seventh-place Samsung and ninth-place KT and Hanwha is 1.5 games. Two consecutive wins and two consecutive losses could shake up the standings.
Third-place Lotte and fourth-place Doosan are separated by five games, while sixth-place Kia and seventh-place Samsung are separated by three games. There is a 3-3-4 tier.
The 2023 KBO League game between the NC Dinos and Lotte Giants was held on April 24 at Sajik Stadium in Busan. NC won 3-1. NC players celebrate after the game. Busan = Heo Sang-wook 기자wook@sportschosun.com/2023.05.24/
The most prominent team in the top three is Lotte. At the start of the season, they were predicted to be a mid-table team at best due to the lack of players to fill the void left by the retired Lee Dae-ho, but they are confidently fighting for first place. They have a very good pitching-hitting balance. If the starting pitching struggles, the bullpen picks up the slack, and the hitters score runs and win games. If the bats are struggling, the bullpen holds them in check, and if the mound is struggling, they win. As the wins pile up, we have the strength to overcome the crisis. On the 26th, they took a 6-0 lead against Kiwoom before giving up five runs in the bottom of the ninth, but managed to hold on for the win.
In the middle of the pack, NC showed a reversal. With the free agency of Yang-ji and Noh Jin-hyuk and the departure of ace Drew Luchinski to the United States, the team was considered to be significantly weakened and was expected to finish in the bottom half. However, NC has shown a solid organization that allowed them to contend for first place at the beginning of the season, and they are still fighting for fifth place almost two months later. New foreign pitcher Eric Peddie has proven to be an ace on par with Luchinski, and domestic pitchers, including domestic ace Koo Chang-mo, have played a role. At the plate, the Korean hitters have also stepped up in the absence of foreign slugger Jason Martin due to injury.
The 2023 KBO League game between KT Wiz and Kiwoom Heroes was held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on May 25. Kiwoom’s Lee Jung-hoo. Suwon=Park Jae-man 기자pjm@sportschosun.com/2023.05.25/
The 2023 KBO League game between KT Wiz and Kiwoom Heroes was held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on May 25. KT players celebrate after winning the game. Suwon=Park Jae-man 기자pjm@sportschosun.com/2023.05.25/
At the bottom of the standings, Kiwoom and KT are the surprise teams, as both were tipped to finish in the top half of the standings and even win the title this season. For Kiwoom, the absence of Lee Jung-hoo, the centerpiece of the team, has weakened the overall offense. The team made a number of moves to bolster its batting before the season, bringing in Futures free agent Lee Hyung-jong, and during the season sending set-up man Kim Tae-hoon to Samsung and bringing in veteran Lee Won-seok, but it hasn’t produced the expected results.토토사이트
KT has been brought to its knees by a series of injuries. Starting with Kim Min-soo, Joo Kwon, Choi Soon-joon, Kim Min-hyuk, Park Byung-ho, and others, the injuries kept coming. The team was forced to use rookies to fill out the first team. Recently, the team has been strengthened by the return of injured players and is showing signs of recovery with a four-game winning streak.
Of course, the season won’t last forever. There will be injuries, heat waves, the Asian Games, and other things that will affect the team’s ranking. How to cope with each situation and overcome it is the path to fall baseball.