Will Samsung's Diaz stay for next season? He shares his overwhelming championship reflections! "A chance that came once in 12 years..." [Samsung V9]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

He suffered a great deal of mental anguish from "hate comments," but it ultimately ended in a happy ending. Lewin Diaz (30), who has been with the Samsung Lions as their foreign hitter since the 2024 season, shared his thoughts on winning the championship.

Samsung, led by Manager Park Jin-man, secured a decisive 12-1 victory over the KT Wiz in Game 5 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Postseason Korea Series (best-of-seven) held at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 8th.

With this, Samsung, which finished the series with a record of four wins and one loss, lifted the Korea Series championship trophy for the ninth time in franchise history, marking their first title in a staggering 12 years since 2014. It is Samsung's first championship in 12 years following their four consecutive combined titles from 2011 to 2014, and their ninth overall franchise victory.

Furthermore, it was an upset championship where the second-place team in the regular season defeated the top-ranked team. The most recent instance of such an upset occurred in 2018. At that time, the SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) dominated the Doosan Bears, who had finished first in the regular season, with a record of four wins and two losses. And now, Samsung has become the team to prevent the regular season leader from winning for the first time in eight years.

In this postseason, Diaz performed well as a key hitter.

Of course, it is true that he was somewhat underperforming in the playoffs against the KIA Tigers. He appeared in all five playoff games, recording a .167 batting average (three hits in 18 at-bats), two home runs, four RBIs, two runs scored, one walk, one hit by pitch, eight strikeouts, a .500 slugging percentage, and a .250 on-base percentage. Most notably, he committed three errors, creating tense moments.

Last season, Diaz recorded 50 home runs and 158 RBIs, becoming the first foreign hitter to reach the 50th-home-run milestone while also setting a new single-season record for most RBIs. However, this season, although Diaz appeared in all 144 regular season games, he left some regret by managing only 26 home runs. Furthermore, as he showed signs of instability in the playoffs, some netizens poured words that were too harsh to utter online at his family.

In response, Diaz stated through his social networking service (SNS), "Even if you don't like me as much as last year and don't support me the way you did last year, I believe it is right to say what I want to say." He continued, "I respectfully ask you. Please do not approach me in the future and demand anything of me. If you have something you want to tell me, please speak with my lawyer. I hope there will be no more cursing or attacking our family, and this will likely be the last time."

Afterward, Diaz showed a resurgence in the Korea Series. Diaz appeared in five Korea Series games, recording a .318 batting average (seven hits in 22 at-bats), one double, one triple, four RBIs, four runs scored, two walks, five strikeouts, a .455 slugging percentage, and a .375 on-base percentage. He committed one error. Ultimately, he shared the great joy of winning the championship with his teammates.

After the victory, Diaz said through the club, "I think we have been running toward the goal of winning the championship from the very beginning of the season, and it is good that we could achieve it together with players who are like family. The trust we had in one another was the biggest factor. It seems we were able to win by coming together with a single goal at an opportunity that came once in 12 years," sharing his overwhelming reflections.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original