"There Is No Tomorrow": Doosan Bears Manager Kim Won-hyung, "Karasco's 7-Inning Perfect Game? The Atmosphere Back Then and Now Are Different" [WC1 On-Site]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Doosan Bears skipper Kim Won-hyung vowed to win ahead of the fateful Wild Card Decider Game 1.

Doosan will face LG in the 2026 KBO Postseason Wild Card Decider Game 1 at 6:30 p.m. on the 14th at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

Finishing the regular season in fifth place, Doosan must win both games of the Wild Card series to advance to the Junior Playoffs.

On the other hand, LG, which finished the regular season in fourth place, can advance to the Junior Playoffs by winning just one game out of the two Wild Card Decider matches.

The team that wins today will face third-place KIA Tigers, who have already secured a spot in the Junior Playoffs, in the Junior Playoff series starting on the 17th at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field.

Ahead of the game, Manager Kim opened an interview with reporters by saying, "This is my first time playing a Wild Card series since becoming a manager." He then stated, "It is one of the autumn baseball games. Rather than feeling excited, I think about how hard the players have worked this season. However, from my perspective, there is no tomorrow, so I strongly feel that we must win today no matter what. The players worked hard in 144 games, and I hope for a good result in the 145th game," revealing his determination.

When asked about evaluations suggesting Doosan has an advantage despite being in fifth place, Manager Kim joked with a smile, "Those people are looking at numbers and arithmetic..." before adding, "It seems you are talking about the atmosphere of the Doosan Bears right now. This season, pitcher Kwak Bin showed truly excellent pitching performance. He also played the role of the number one starter with stability in the Asian Games. It seems like you are speaking positively about that aspect for short series games. However, the fourth-place team starts with a 1-0 lead. Thinking about that, I don't see it as such an advantage from my perspective. Still, I am taking it positively, interpreting it to mean the team atmosphere looks good from the outside."

On this day, Doosan set its starting lineup in the following order: Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Ahn Jae-seok (third baseman), Severino (first baseman), Yang Eui-ji (designated hitter), Kim Min-seok (left fielder), Kang Seung-ho (second baseman), Jung Soo-bin (center fielder), Yoon Jun-ho (catcher), and Cho Su-haeng (right fielder). The starting pitcher is Kwak Bin.

Kwak Bin appeared in 27 games this season, recording an 11-7 record with a 2.24 ERA. Over a total of 161 innings, he allowed 129 hits (11 home runs), issued 39 walks, struck out 197 batters, and gave up 45 runs (40 earned). His Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched (WHIP) was 1.04, and the batting average against him was 0.216. He achieved a quality start (at least six innings with three or fewer earned runs allowed) on 20 occasions.

Against LG this year, he started in three games, marking a 0-1 record with a 1.96 ERA. He recorded a total of 18⅓ innings pitched, allowing 15 hits (1 home run), issuing 2 walks, striking out 27 batters, and giving up 4 runs (4 earned). The batting average against him in games versus LG was 0.224.

Regarding the Kwak Bin-Yoon Jun-ho battery, Manager Kim explained, "Kwak Bin did not really coordinate with Yang Eui-ji this season. We decided to have Jun-ho handle it exclusively, just like we did during the regular season."

On this day, Doosan has all its starting pitching resources on standby, including Kwak Bin, Jacklog, and Choi Min-seok. Benjamin is in a strong position to start if Doosan advances to Wild Card Decider Game 2.

Regarding the timing for replacing starting pitcher Kwak Bin and the strategy for utilizing Jacklog, Manager Kim said, "If Kwak Bin pitches normally, it will be important how the opposing (LG) lineup performs in between and how many innings he lasts. Whether Kwak Bin throws the ball as well as he did during the regular season, or if problems arise before that, we plan to use Jacklog and (Choi) Min-seok as the second pitcher based on this difference."

He continued about Kwak Bin, "He has become a distinctly different pitcher in this year's regular season. I cautiously expect him to pitch well today as well. He has already pitched in a big game. The Asian Games final must have been very stressful, but I think having played that game will affect him today. I believe there is no memory of poor performance in previous big games in Bin's mind," expressing his trust.

Finally, when asked about key players regarding how to handle Karasco, Manager Kim said, "Karasco's first appearance was against our team." He added, "At that time, we failed to figure him out and suffered a 7-inning perfect game. The atmosphere back then and the atmosphere now are different. Of course, that player will know today's game is very important. He is a pitcher who built an incredible career in Major League Baseball. He has likely experienced many big games as well." Nevertheless, Manager Kim revealed his expectations again by stating, "Towards the end of the season, our (Doosan) position players have been in very good condition. As I always say, I hope about 5 to 6 players are in good form today."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original