'7th → 7th → 7th' Lotte to Overhaul Defense First! 'Including 36-year-old Koo Seung-min' Manager Lee Dong-wook's First Camp Deploys 50... 21-Day Intensive Training in Miyazaki, Japan

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Finishing 7th for the third consecutive year and failing to advance to the postseason for the ninth straight year. To resolve their persistent autumn baseball drought, the Lotte Giants are starting with a complete overhaul of their defense. New manager Lee Dong-wook (52), who led the NC Dinos to their first-ever double crown in 2020, is embarking on his first intensive training camp in Miyazaki, Japan.

Lotte announced on the 3rd, "We will hold a defensive enhancement camp to strengthen our defensive capabilities for the 2027 season."

The camp will be held from the 4th to the 24th, lasting 21 days, in Hiuga City, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. The schedule includes one day of rest after training on the 4th, with a focus on checking fundamentals and improving defensive skills.

A total of 50 people will participate in this camp, including 18 coaching staff members led by Manager Lee Dong-wook and 32 players. The player roster consists of 13 pitchers, 3 catchers, 9 infielders, and 7 outfielders.

There is a reason Lotte named the camp a "Defensive Enhancement Camp." This year, Lotte finished 7th in the regular season with a record of 64 wins, 3 draws, and 77 losses (winning percentage .454). They had signed former manager Kim Tae-hyung (59) to a three-year contract worth a total of 2.4 billion won, hoping for a turnaround, but they finished 7th for the third consecutive year since 2024. They also failed to qualify for the postseason for the ninth year in a row since 2017.

It is not that there were no results at all. This year, Lotte leveraged the stability of their starting rotation to remain in contention for the postseason until mid-season. However, they ultimately slipped into the lower ranks without resolving issues such as a lack of power hitting in the lineup, defensive instability, and thin player depth.

Last month, Lotte decided not to re-sign Manager Kim Tae-hyung and appointed Manager Lee Dong-wook as the new head coach. They also brought in newly appointed general manager Lee Tak-geun (46) to undertake a fundamental improvement of the organization.

The top priority for the new head coach is defense. Manager Lee is an expert who served as a defensive coach at NC for many years. He took over as NC's manager in 2019 and led them to their first-ever double crown the following year. Lotte also presented data utilization, objective power analysis, defensive strengthening, and customized player development as new operational directions when appointing him.

At his inauguration ceremony, the manager emphasized, "Offense calls for fans, but defense calls for victory," stating that he would dedicate more time to defensive training.

This camp is the first stage to realize that vision. The manager stated, "I plan to guide training so that players can physically learn and routinize detailed situational movements to utilize them in actual games," adding, "We will show you a significantly improved defensive capability through this defensive enhancement camp."

There are also significant changes in the coaching staff composition. Coach Heo Moon-hoe (54), who previously served as Lotte's head coach, has returned as first division head coach and hitting advisor, while former manager Cho Won-woo (55), who led Lotte to their last postseason appearance in 2017, will serve as defensive coach.

Among the players, 13 pitchers, including Koo Seung-min (36), are participating. The position player lineup features a large number of young players, including Na Seung-yeop (24), Park Chan-hyung (24), Han Tae-yang (23), and Jo Se-jin (23). Four 2027 rookies will also participate in an overseas closing camp for the first time. Catchers Won Ji-woo (18) and Oh Jeong-seok, infielder Im Seong-jun (19), and outfielder Bae Jong-yoon (18) will train alongside their senior teammates.

Players training at specialized overseas development institutions will join sequentially. Jeon Min-jae (27), Ko Seung-min (26), and Lee Seo-jun (19), who were dispatched to Drive Line in the United States, will join the camp on the 10th. Kim Tae-gyun (20), Kim Han-gyeol (20), and Lee Jun-seo (20), who are training at Tread Athletics, will also arrive on the same day. Outfielders Hwang Seong-bin (29) and Jo Min-yeong (21) are scheduled to join on the 14th, while Jang Doo-seong (27) and Kim Dong-hyuk (26) will join on the 16th.

Lotte operates customized development programs, including dispatching players not only to Drive Line in the United States and Tread Athletics Academy but also to the closing camps of Japan's Yomiuri Giants and Chiba Lotte Marines.

In this defensive enhancement camp, Lotte will intensively check each player's fundamentals and situational defensive movements, concluding all schedules on the 24th.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original