*This content was translated by AI.
Is it because of the sweep of bullpen resources, including free agents (FA). "Winning manager" Lee Bum-ho (45), manager of the KIA Tigers, looked brave and energetic. Before leaving the spring camp, he expressed his conviction with confidence.
On the 22nd, Kia left for Amami-Oshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, where four foreign players, including head coach Lee and other coaching staff, James Nail, Adam Oler, Harold Castro, and Gerid Dale (Asia Quarter), left the country first at Gimpo International Airport. On the 23rd, the KIA team is scheduled to leave the country. They will pass through Tokyo and enter Amami-Oshima, the land of the battle.
Asked to pick a key player this season, Lee, who was interviewed by reporters before leaving the country, said, "I think all players, not one or two, should join forces. Previously, infield (Park) Chan-ho and (Choi) Hyung-woo took the center stage on the batter's side. Since they've all escaped, the team itself should be united from now on," he said.
"The pitchers should block it with the least points. Instead, fielders must minimize errors on the defense side when pitchers throw. If these things are gathered one by one, I think we can catch enough games. So if we think that we can only catch the game that we can catch, I think we can go to the part we thought of, he said, drawing the overall picture.
Prior to leaving the spring camp, KIA signed contracts with internal FA Cho Sang-woo (a total of 1.5 billion won, including two-year contract period, 500 million won in down payment, 800 million won in annual salary, 200 million won in incentives), external FA Kim Bum-soo (a total of 2 billion won, including three-year contract period, 500 million won in down payment, 1.2 billion won in annual salary, and 300 million won in incentives), and Hong Gun-hee (a total of 700 million won, including a one-year contract, 650 million won in annual salary, and 50 million won in incentives). It was a so-called "bullet pen sweep" contract. It is expected to be a great help to KIA this season. It is 4.2 billion won if all three of them are paid together.
Coach Lee said, "I think it will be very difficult because shortstop (Park Chan-ho to Doosan) representing the league and hitter (Choi Hyung-woo to Samsung) representing the league are missing. However, (Kim) Do-young played only 30 games last season, and (B) Sung-beom and (Kim) Sun-bin also had the most difficult season last year. Maybe that's why you prepared well this year. You lost a lot of weight, too. Since the players prepared well, I think they can do the 5th round well. I think it's a good opportunity to change the team color, and I think unexpected results can come out enough," he said again, expressing confidence.
KIA, which won the 2024 season integrated championship, left the spring camp for Irvine in the U.S. ahead of the 2025 season. However, Kia, which finished eighth in the 2025 season, has changed a lot. The location of the first camp is Japan, not the United States. Director Lee said, "I think it's a natural result. As a coach, the team ranked first and then went down to eighth place. That's why I have a very heavy heart as a coach," he said.
Then, coach Lee said, "But the past season is the past season. In July and August last year, we played on par with the first and second-place teams. I think we have enough ability. So I'll have better performances than I thought, so don't worry about KIA Tigers fans, and if you wait a little longer, I'll prepare well for the camp and make sure to show good results," he said, vowing to do well.
Meanwhile, KIA will run spring camps at Amami Kawasho Stadium and Okinawa Kin Stadium in Amami-Oshima, Japan, until March 8. 63 players, including 21 coaching staff and 42 players, will participate in this spring camp. The team consisted of 21 pitchers, three catchers, nine infielders and nine outfielders. Among the 2026 rookies, pitcher Kim Hyun-soo and outfielder Kim Min-kyu were listed.
KIA Spring Camp will be divided into the first and second rounds. The team will engage in physical, technical and tactical training at Amami Kawasho Stadium in Amami-Oshima from the 25th. After that, he moved to Okinawa on February 22nd and began a full-fledged practice system by holding training and practice games at Keen Stadium from the 23rd to March 7th.
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*This content was translated by AI.
