How could this happen? '16 at-bats, no hits.' Finally, the manager takes decisive action: Why was the 35th-year-old veteran unexpectedly excluded from the starting lineup? [Gocheok]

*This content was translated by AI.

Doosan Bears made a slight adjustment to its starting lineup. Instead of including veteran Yang Seok-hwan (35), whose batting average this season has remained in the .210s, the team opted to start Oh Myung-jin at first base.

Doosan will play an away game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome on the 1st as part of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season.

On this day, Doosan set its starting batting order as follows: Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Cameron (right fielder), Park Jun-soon (second baseman), Yang Eui-ji (designated hitter), Kim Min-seok (left fielder), Ahn Jae-seok (third baseman), Jung Soobin (center fielder), Oh Myung-jin (first baseman), and Kim Ki-yeon (catcher). The starting pitcher for Doosan was Choi Min-seok, while Kiwoom's starting pitcher was Ha Young-min.

Notably, Yang Seok-hwan, who signed a four-year-plus-two-year free agent (FA) contract worth a total of 7.8 billion won, was excluded from the starting lineup.

Yang Seok-hwan has appeared in 25 games this season, recording a .214 batting average (84 at-bats, 18 hits), one home run, three doubles, six RBIs, five runs scored, eight walks, 26 strikeouts, a .286 slugging percentage, a .271 on-base percentage, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.557. However, he struggled significantly in clutch situations, with a batting average of 0 (16 at-bats, no hits) with runners in scoring position.

Before the game, Doosan manager Kim Won-hyeong expressed regret, stating, "Seok-hwan is now a veteran. He has been putting in a lot of effort during practice, but it doesn't seem to be translating well into games." He added, "When things aren't going well, he takes a day off, like today."

The manager further explained, "Myung-jin is starting today. If he performs well, he could start again tomorrow. For regular starters, there is generally an expectation that they must consistently perform well in games. So, for now, we decided to give Myung-jin a start."

Additionally, Doosan made changes to its first-division roster. Before today's game, Doosan registered Park Chi-guk and Kim Myeong-shin to the first-division roster. Meanwhile, Choi Ji-gang and Yoon Tae-ho were removed from the first-division roster. Yoon Tae-ho reported discomfort in his right shoulder after finishing the Samsung Lions game on the 30th of last month and is scheduled to undergo a medical examination on the 2nd.

Choi Min-seok had started five games this season prior to this match, recording three wins with no losses, an ERA of 1.82. Over a total of 29⅔ innings, he allowed 20 hits (one home run), issued 18 walks, recorded 23 strikeouts, and gave up eight runs (six earned). His WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) was 1.28, and his batting average against was 0.192. He has successfully delivered quality starts (six innings or more with three or fewer earned runs) in three consecutive recent games, achieving four quality starts in total this year.

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*This content was translated by AI.