Even after a dramatic walk-off victory, Manager Lee Beom-ho's expression remained stern → Team meeting asks 'Why on earth?'... "We must also pay close attention to our staff" [Gwangju]

*This content was translated by AI.

KIA Tigers manager Lee Beom-ho (45) revealed the reason behind his stern expression despite a dramatic walk-off victory the previous day (the 4th).

Ahead of the home game against KT Wiz at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 5th as part of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season, Manager Lee Beom-ho reflected on the previous day's game.

In the bottom of the 10th extra inning, KIA loaded the bases with two consecutive walks by Park Jung-woo (28) and Jeong Hyeon-chang (20) against Ju Gwon-hwan, followed by Kim Ho-ryeong's sacrifice bunt to create a one-out situation at second and third base. Since both Park Jung-woo and Jeong Hyeon-chang were known for their speed, KT intentionally walked Han Jun-soo to load all bases, aiming to induce a double play. However, the strategy backfired when reliever Moon Yong-ik threw a wild pitch that sailed all the way to the center field wall, rendering KT's plan useless.

Thanks to this, KIA shook off the nightmare memory of their trip to Changwon and escaped a two-game losing streak. Yet after the game, Manager Lee Beom-ho called a team meeting due to the careless baserunning by Park Jung-woo and Jeong Hyeon-chang, who were on second and third base respectively in the walk-off situation. At that time, Park Jung-woo, the runner at third base, raised both arms high and jogged slowly toward home plate. Meanwhile, Jeong Hyeon-chang, the runner at second base, left his base and merely watched the ball.

Of course, everyone could see it was a walk-off situation. However, had Park Jung-woo been slower to reach home plate than KT's infielders' throw from second base, the inning could have ended with a double out.

Manager Lee Beom-ho stated firmly, "We already held a meeting yesterday because of this. Before the runner at third base touches home plate, the runner at second should have either touched the base and run to third, or stayed attached to second base to clearly confirm whether (the runner from third) had stepped on home plate before taking any action." He added, "If the runner from third had fallen while running, Jeong Hyeon-chang would have been tagged out. We discussed these points immediately after the game."

Park Jung-woo is in his 10th season but has only played 275 games with 304 plate appearances in his career, while Jeong Hyeon-chang, a second-year player, has appeared in just 119 games with 104 plate appearances. This made their mistakes somewhat understandable.

Manager Lee Beom-ho said, "They still need to learn these situations. When such scenarios arise, they must think through several options before executing baserunning plays to avoid mistakes. Of course, Jeong Hyeon-chang is still young and may not know how to handle a walk-off situation or might want to run even after the walk-off hit." He then emphasized, "That's precisely why our staff must keep reminding them so that such situations do not recur in the future."

On this day, KIA lined up with Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Kim Seon-bin (second baseman), Kim Do-young (designated hitter), Harold Castro (first baseman), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Han Jun-soo (catcher), Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder), Byun Woo-hyuk (third baseman), and Ha Joo-seok (shortstop). The starting pitcher was Yang Hyeon-jong.

In response, KT set their lineup with Choi Won-jun (center fielder), Kim Hyun-su (first baseman), Ahn Hyeon-min (right fielder), Sam Hilliard (left fielder), Kim Min-hyuk (designated hitter), Heo Kyung-min (third baseman), Kim Sang-soo (second baseman), Han Seung-taek (catcher), and Son Min-seok (shortstop). The starting pitcher was Logan Allen.

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*This content was translated by AI.