KIA Lee Beom-ho, who is 'expected to be extreme a year ago → in the lower ranks this year', said, "I will mobilize all the desperation.""

*This content was translated by AI.

"This is how my view of KIA has changed in a year."

This is the words of an official who watched the 2026 KBO League Media Day held on the 26th.

At this time last year, KIA was dubbed "Extremely Strong," not "First Round." The previous year, 2024, the previous year, is expected to show off its powerful power that no team can overcome, as its record of winning the integrated championship remains strong.

However, the final performance was only eighth, and last winter, Park Chan-ho (31) and Choi Hyung-woo (43) moved to Doosan and Samsung, respectively. The reality is that experts' expected rankings for KIA this season are at the bottom or the "five-tier ambush."

Lee Bum-ho (45), the manager of KIA, who attended the media day, showed his sincerity. "I've experienced both glory and frustration in the last two years," he said. In 2026, I will forget everything and make a new team to achieve better performance," he said.

It is not just a power leak. Kim Bum-soo (31), Hong Gun-hee (34), and Lee Tae-yang (36) were recruited to strengthen the bullpen. As the Asian quarter, he is the only one among the 10 teams to choose fielder Dale (26) rather than a pitcher to fill the gap in shortstop that Park Chan-ho left. Foreigners one-two punch nail (33) and Oler (32) remained, and outfielder Castro (33) joined as batters.

Coach Lee Bum-ho said, "I did well in a very quiet and empty spring camp (Kagoshima-Okinawa, Japan). "I really only played defense whenever I ate, but I think I showed it through exhibition games," he said. "If I played with my offense before, I will mobilize my defense, bullpen, and the desperation of the players this season." KIA recorded only three errors, the fewest among the 10 teams, in this year's exhibition game.

In the batting lineup, Na Sung-bum (37) and Kim Do-young (23) are preparing for the opening of "Healthy." Na Sung-bum, who showed off his strong performance with a batting average of 0.381 (8 hits in 21 at-bats) and one homer and four RBIs in 11 games in the exhibition game, expressed confidence in media day, saying, "I'm in a very good physical condition." Kim Do-young also adjusted his batting average with 0.364 (4 hits in 11 at-bats) in six exhibition games after visiting the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

If veteran Kim Sun-bin (37)'s official records are added to this, and Kim Ho-ryeong (34), Oh Sun-woo (30), Park Min (25), and Yoon Do-hyun (23) show their upgraded skills, they can build a formidable lineup.

An official from KIA said, "Even ahead of the 2024 season, there were not many experts who expected our victory." At that time, LG, the winner of the previous year, was expected to take the lead, but the result was an overwhelming victory by nine games with KIA's second place.

Manager Lee Bum-ho said, "Last year, I felt so sorry for the KIA Tigers fans," and vowed, "I will make sure to achieve autumn baseball this season, which I couldn't do last year."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.