With the "New F4" in place, Doosan cannot afford to end its season after just one postseason game: The reason the team refuses to settle for fifth place or lower

*This content was translated by AI.

The Doosan Bears are not satisfied with a fifth-place finish. The reason is the presence of their "New F4."

On the 1st at Seoul Jamsil Stadium. After Doosan defeated the NC Dinos 9-7, an award ceremony for the Hustle Play Award was held for Kim Tae-yeon (21) and Kang Seung-ho (32), both of Doosan.

Standing before the home crowd with a microphone in hand, Kim Tae-yeon stated, "We have not given up on climbing even higher," adding, "The gap between us and the teams above is only a few games, so we will do our best to try to move up." Kang Seung-ho's resolve was similar. He said, "Since the season is not yet over, we can still finish fourth or climb to an even higher position. We would appreciate your high expectations."

Doosan currently trails third-place LG Twins by four games and fourth-place KIA Tigers by two games. As recently as the 27th of last month, the gap to fourth place had widened to five games. However, while LG suffered a five-game losing streak and KIA went 1-4 in their last five games, Doosan posted a 4-1 record, significantly narrowing the gap. If Doosan maintains its momentum and either LG or KIA dominates in their remaining four head-to-head matchups, there is a possibility that the standings could shift.

Doosan's dreams of reaching higher ground are underpinned by exceptional confidence and expectations. This is because they possess what is considered the strongest starting rotation among the 10th teams.

This season, Doosan is the only team recording an ERA in the 3rd-point range (3.84). Even when separated into starters (3.70) and relievers (4.06), both groups hold overwhelming first-place records. In the past 10 years, a team with the league's best ERA has not finished fifth or lower since LG (sixth place) in 2017, nine years ago.

It is notable that two domestic pitchers form a "one-two punch." Kwak Bin (27) leads the league in ERA (2.26) and strikeouts (186), while Choi Min-seok (20) is tied for first in wins (14). The foreign players are no slouches either. Benjamin (33), who joined as a replacement for Flexen, has an 8-7 record with a 2.42 ERA. Jack Logan (30), in his second year in the KBO, is also in the "top 10" in ERA (4.15) and strikeouts (135).

Had Benjamin met the qualifying innings requirement, he would have ranked second in the league in ERA, meaning all four of Doosan's starting pitchers could have placed within the top 10. While they have fewer wins than the "Fantastic F4" of 2016—Nippert (22 wins), Bowden (18 wins), Yoo Hee-gwan (15 wins), and Jang Won-jun (15 wins)—who led the team to a unified championship, they are worthy of the nickname "New F4."

The importance of the starting rotation tends to grow in short series like the postseason. If Doosan advances to the Wild Card Series as the fifth seed, they could be forced to end their autumn baseball campaign after just one game. For Doosan, which has a solid lineup extending down to its fourth starter, such an outcome would be far too regrettable. This is why Doosan refuses to give up on "higher ground" and is exerting all its effort in the remaining six games.

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*This content was translated by AI.