'Why didn't you use Choi Hyung-woo as a pinch hitter?' Park Jin-man, sleepless over the decision: "If I were the opposing manager, wouldn't I have walked him? You can't just send someone out blindly."

*This content was translated by AI.

"Even if I were the opposing manager, I would have walked him. You can't just send someone out blindly because you have the card."

Samsung Lions manager Park Jin-man (50) honestly revealed the real reasons why he did not use 'veteran problem-solver' Choi Hyung-woo (43) as a pinch hitter in the crucial ninth inning of the previous day's (the 4th) game. He also mentioned that he was so sleepless with regret over the defeat.

Samsung suffered a comeback loss, 3-4, against LG Twins at their home stadium in Seoul Jamsil on the 4th.

After failing to maintain a 3-0 lead and surrendering four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Samsung lost momentum. In the final offensive opportunity of the top of the ninth, Diaz drew a walk from Go Woo-seok, creating a no-out first base situation. However, after Yang Woo-hyun's bunt attempt failed, followed by a strikeout, Ryu Ji-hyuk swinging and missing for a strikeout, and Kang Min-ho flying out to the second baseman, they were unable to tie the game. As Choi Hyung-woo, who had been waiting in the dugout as a pinch hitter, did not get into the game, deep regret and questions arose among fans and reporters.

On the following day, the 5th, ahead of the LG Twins game at Jamsil, manager Park Jin-man met with reporters and directly explained the background and process of why Choi Hyung-woo was not used. While stating that Choi "had been preparing from the bench," Park firmly said, "But just because he is on the bench doesn't mean we can send him out as a pinch hitter without any thought."

The key issue was the possibility of an intentional walk with first base open. Manager Park noted, "If Hyung-woo comes up with a runner on second, do you think the opposing bench would just let him battle? Even if I were managing LG, I would have definitely walked him (automatic intentional walk)." He added, "If the opponent avoids it, we end up wasting our most powerful pinch-hitting card in vain." This explains that they could not use Choi Hyung-woo's card when it was obvious the opposing bench would avoid a direct confrontation with him and instead choose to battle the next batter.

Regarding the subsequent batting situation, he also added, "We considered using another pinch hitter in the next at-bat, but after weighing recent form and experience, we judged that Kang Min-ho was better than Kim Tae-hoon, who was waiting."

He also spoke about the bunt strategy with Yang Woo-hyun in the top of the ninth with no outs and a runner on first. Manager Park stated, "It is indeed not easy to hit consecutive hits against Go Woo-seok's fast pitches. Since a runner was on base, it was correct to bunt him over to second base and aim for a run. We sent out Woo-hyun, who is the best at bunting in our team, but it seems the strategy didn't work because Go Woo-seok's pitching landed precisely on the corners."

Although they swallowed their regret from the previous day's one-run loss, Choi Hyung-woo, after a day of rest, immediately returned to the starting lineup as the fourth designated hitter that day. Manager Park is determined to avenge the previous day's defeat by reactivating the powerful middle-of-the-order lineup featuring Ju Ja-wook-Choi Hyung-woo-Diaz.

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*This content was translated by AI.