[Official Announcement] From Park Byung-ho with 418 home runs to Lee Seong-yeol with 190! Kiwoom's gamble to escape last place for the fourth consecutive year... 2027 coaching staff finalized

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Two power hitters who represented the KBO League will take charge of player development at Kiwoom Heroes. Park Byung-ho (40), with a career total of 418 home runs, will oversee Futures team batting in his second year as a coach, while Lee Seong-yeol (42), with a career total of 190 home runs, returns to his former team to serve as the first division batting coach. Kiwoom, which has remained at the bottom of the standings for four consecutive years, is seeking change to resolve its chronic lack of power hitting.

Kiwoom announced on the 11th that it had completed the composition of its coaching staff for the first division, Futures team, and reserve group for the 2027 season.

Manager Seol Jong-jin (53) will lead the first division, while Manager Oh Yoon (43) will head the Futures team, with changes made to the batting department. The most notable figure is Park Byung-ho. He debuted with the LG Twins in 2005 and struggled to secure opportunities until joining the Nexen Heroes via trade in 2011, which marked the beginning of his prime.

Starting with 31 home runs in 2012, he hit 52 home runs in 2014 and 53 home runs in 2015. He became the first player in KBO League history to achieve 50 home runs in two consecutive seasons, leaving behind significant records such as winning the home run championship six times and being named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the regular season twice. Park Byung-ho, who also played for the Minnesota Twins in Major League Baseball (MLB), retired last year after playing for the KT Wiz and Samsung Lions. His career KBO League statistics are 1,767 games, a .272 batting average, 1,554 hits, 418 home runs, and 1,244 RBIs.

He returned to Kiwoom, where he spent the prime of his playing career, in November last year. He began his coaching career as a senior coach for the reserve group and held an official retirement ceremony at Gocheok Sky Dome in April last year. Although Park Byung-ho's potential transfer was discussed when a vacancy occurred in the first division batting coach position during this season, the club allowed him to focus on developing the reserve group. Having his coaching abilities recognized in his first year, he will concurrently serve as the general manager of the reserve group and the Futures team batting coach starting next year.

Another former power hitter, Lee Seong-yeol, joins the first division. Drafted by LG in the second round, third overall pick (1st round) in 2003, Lee Seong-yeol went on to play for Doosan, Nexen, and Hanwha. After playing for the Heroes from 2012 until April 2015, he established himself as a central hitter for Hanwha. In particular, in 2018, he recorded a .295 batting average, 34 home runs, and 102 RBIs in 131 games, contributing to Hanwha's postseason appearance after an 11-year absence. His career KBO League statistics are 1,506 games, a .253 batting average, 1,047 hits, 190 home runs, and 698 RBIs.

Lee Seong-yeol, who retired in 2021, began his coaching career at KT the following year and has coached batting for the Futures team and the development/rehabilitation group until this year. Kiwoom highly valued his development experience and signed him as the first division batting coach. Lee Seong-yeol will join the closing camp in Tainan, Taiwan, on the 11th.

The reason Kiwoom is placing expectations on two coaches from power-hitting backgrounds lies in its persistent lack of power hitting. This season, Kiwoom remained in eighth place in the league with 115 team home runs and had the lowest slugging percentage at .361. While remaining at the bottom of the regular season standings for four consecutive years since 2023, the offense's productivity has also failed to improve.

The problem is not limited to this year. In 2023, the team recorded only 61 home runs (10th place) and a .353 slugging percentage (9th place). In 2024 as well, with 104 home runs and a .380 slugging percentage, they were last in both categories. Last year, they also recorded 104 home runs (7th place) and a .359 slugging percentage (10th place). Although home runs increased to 115 this year, the slugging percentage remained the lowest in the league. The lack of power has been a chronic weakness, as the team's slugging percentage has not ranked higher than eighth place even once in the last four years.

In response, Kiwoom reorganized its batting coaching system centered on Park Byung-ho and Lee Seong-yeol, who have combined for 608 career home runs. In the Futures team, Lee Byung-gyu (32) and Lee Myung-gi (26) will coach batting, while Lee Hyung-jong (37) will concurrently serve as an active player and first division assistant batting coach.

The positions of other coaches were also adjusted. Yoo Jae-shin (39) moves from the Futures team to the first division to handle defense and third base running/strategy. Moon Seong-hyeon (35) and Park Seung-ju (32) swap positions as bullpen coaches for the first division and Futures team, respectively, while Moon Chan-jong (35) moves to the Futures team as a defense and first base running coach.

Kiwoom will dispatch a total of 45 players, including existing players such as An Woo-jin (27) and 11 rookie/development players, to the closing camp in Taiwan to prepare for the 2027 season.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original