Kiwoom's manager, who finished last for the fourth consecutive year, bowed his head immediately after the final game: "I am sorry to the fans, and we will prepare even more thoroughly"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Kiwoom Heroes managed to smile in their season finale, powered by four home runs. Manager Seol Jong-jin (53) of Kiwoom, who achieved a respectable finish, also apologized to fans for the team's poor performance. At the same time, he expressed his determination to achieve better results in the 2027 season.

On the 7th, Kiwoom defeated the Hanwha Eagles 5-3 in a slugfest during their final matchup of the season at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro District, Seoul, in the "2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League." With this victory, Kiwoom finished its 144th regular season game on a high note, maintaining an absolute dominance against Hanwha with a record of 10 wins, 5 losses, and 1 draw this season.

However, behind the joy of victory in Manager Seol Jong-jin's expression after the game lay deep regret and a sense of apology toward the fans. Kiwoom failed to escape last place again this season, suffering the pain of remaining in 10th place in the league for the fourth consecutive year.

Even when meeting with reporters before the game, Manager Seol first expressed his heavy sense of responsibility. "Our goal this season was to escape the bottom tier, and we made many efforts toward that, but we failed, ultimately remaining last for the fourth consecutive year," Manager Seol said, bowing his head. "I sincerely apologize to the fans."

Reflecting on his first full-time season as a first division manager, he stated, "It was truly difficult. I deeply realized how hard baseball is and felt a great sense of responsibility as a manager." However, he also consoled his players by saying, "The players did their best and ran hard for the year in their own way. I want to tell them that they worked hard and did a good job."

Manager Seol noted that while he confirmed hopeful elements such as the stability of the starting rotation, the performance of replacement foreign investors, and the joining of rookies this season, he emphasized that much more rigorous preparation is needed to escape the bottom tier.

Kiwoom will immediately begin rebuilding its strength. Manager Seol stated, "We must run and train more than others to escape the bottom tier," and revealed that they would focus on strengthening defense, intensive base running training, and improving the pitching staff's control during the upcoming schedule, including the closing camp and the Taiwan Winter League. He also said that they plan to thoroughly establish a management plan regarding the future offensive and pitching usage direction for "big rookie" Ha Hyun-seung, who was selected with the first overall pick, after in-depth meetings with the coaching staff and the team.

After winning the final game, Manager Seol once again took care of his players and fans. "All the players did their best until the end of the season," Manager Seol said. "I congratulate starting pitcher Kim Sung-jin for pitching well for five innings to earn his first career start win, and the bullpen also protected the lead well until the end." He summarized the game by adding, "We were able to finish with a victory in the final game thanks to home runs by Davidson, Hiura, Park Chan-hyuk, and Kim Jae-hyun."

He continued, "I sincerely thank all the fans who sent us great support until the very end of the season. I am sorry that we could not meet expectations this season," conveying his firm determination to "return having prepared even more thoroughly for next season."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original