'Miracle' Doosan, boldly eyeing the 4th-place spot held by KIA → Manager: "My weakness is lack of relaxation... I will do my best until the end"

*This content was translated by AI.

Although it seems autumn baseball is practically secured, the manager has no intention whatsoever to let down his guard. This is the story of Doosan Bears and their manager Kim Won-hyung.

On the 23rd, Doosan secured a thrilling 3-2 walk-off victory against KIA Tigers in their regular-season home game at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium during the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

With this win, Doosan achieved two consecutive victories, finishing with 67 wins, 62 losses, and 5 ties. They maintained sole possession of 5th place in the league standings.

Doosan narrowed the gap against KIA, who currently hold sole 4th place with 71 wins, 58 losses, and 2 ties, reducing the difference from five games to four games.

Additionally, they maintained a 6.5-game lead over NC Dinos, ranked 6th, after both teams played on the same day when KT Wiz was defeated.

Doosan now has only 10 games remaining in this season. They will first play five consecutive home games at Jamsil. After a rest day on the 24th, they face Lotte Giants on the 25th, then take another break on the 26th before meeting KT Wiz on the 27th. Following a rest day on the 28th, they will play three consecutive games against NC from October 1st through October 3rd.

From the 3rd to the 5th, they will play three consecutive games against Samsung Lions in Daegu. On the 6th, they travel to Busan to face Lotte, and on the 7th, they conclude their regular season with a final match against LG.

The manager remains fully alert and has not relaxed his focus.

Ahead of the KIA game on the 23rd, when asked by reporters whether he was considering the wild card playoff race depending on the gap between 4th and 6th place, he stated, "As I have mentioned several times, anything can happen in baseball." He continued, "Although we are currently 6.5 games behind NC, we will play three consecutive games against them by the end of this month. After that, there are still three games left against Samsung. We must play six crucial games. Anything could happen. Therefore, I intend to focus on today's game and tomorrow's game separately."

Manager Kim emphasized again, "Of course, if we look only at the numbers, it would be positive, but from my perspective, that is not the case. Just two weeks ago, we were being chased by others. At that time, we were eight games behind and still felt pressure. I thought we had room to breathe, yet within less than two weeks, things changed so drastically. If our performance doesn't improve, anything could happen. All I can say is that we must do our best until the very end."

Manager Kim smiled and said, "My weakness is that I lack relaxation," adding, "I am always worried."

Regarding the challenge for 4th place, he remarked, "It depends on today's game, but first, we need to perform well. We still have 11 games remaining (as of the morning of the 23rd). If we deliver strong performances in those 11 games, anything could happen. In fact, thinking back on past games, I sometimes wonder, 'If we had secured that game, we wouldn't be so concerned and could look higher up.' However, all that is already behind us. Now, I just want to keep saying that today is what matters."

Ultimately, as the manager hoped, they secured the crucial match against KIA. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning and runners on second base, Ahn Jae-seok hit a walk-off single, delivering a thrilling comeback victory.

After the game, Manager Kim praised, "This was truly an important match. The entire team united with incredible focus and determination to secure the win. Starting pitcher Jacklog pitched six innings allowing only two runs, creating a tight atmosphere. The relief pitchers who followed also performed excellently. In particular, Takada closed out a critical situation with bases loaded and two outs, giving the players confidence that they could win. At bat, Ahn Jae-seok's performance stood out. He has recently shown excellent contact ability after falling behind by two strikes, producing results, and on this occasion, he brought a valuable win to the team."

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*This content was translated by AI.