“We’re sorry. We didn’t live up to the fans’ expectations, and we fell short.”
The Doosan Bears issued an apology after being eliminated from the fall baseball season. On the 20th, Doosan posted an image of an apology on the club’s SNS with the message, “We are sorry. We did not live up to the expectations of the fans, and we fell short. Next year, we will definitely show Miracle Doosan’s potential. Thank you very much for this year.” .
The apology image said, “Thank you. We fell short. Despite the consistent support and encouragement we received over the past year, we were unable to rise to a higher level than our fans expected. It is because of our shortcomings.”
He added, “However, based on this year’s experience, we will definitely show Miracle Doosan’s potential next year. Once again, I bow my head in apology and gratitude to Doosan fans. I am sorry. And I am truly grateful for the entire year.” .
It was so powerful that it seemed like an apology from a team that failed to advance to the postseason, and that it would reflect deeply and reflect again. An apology is the will of the club’s higher-ups. The club expressed at least in an apology how seriously it was taking the fans’ criticism.
Doosan succeeded in boarding the last postseason train in 5th place, recording 74 wins, 68 losses, 2 draws, and a winning percentage of 0.521 in the regular season. From 2015 to 2021, they were on a roll, making history by becoming the first KBO club to advance to the Korean Series for seven consecutive years, but the shock of falling to 9th place last year was great. sent.
However, they had to bow their heads as they were eliminated from the fall baseball tournament after just one game. Doosan lost 9-14 in the first game of the wild card decision against the 4th place team NC Dinos held at Changwon NC Park on the 19th. With a 3-0 lead until the top of the 4th inning, it seemed like they were setting the stage for the first upset in Wild Card Series history, but trusted starting pitcher Kwak Bin was hit with a grand slam by Seo Ho-cheol after 2 outs in the bottom of the 4th inning and allowed back-to-back home runs to Kim Hyeong-jun, making it 3 in an instant. It flipped to -5.
Doosan had a chance to win again by scoring 2 points in the top of the 5th inning to level the score at 5-5, but due to a number of errors and errors that should not have been made, they were unable to unravel the tangled thread and lost 9-14. The batting line scored 9 runs with 14 hits, which was enough, but after starting pitcher Kwak Bin made an early decision, the bullpen’s back and bench did not respond well enough. Because the battle for rankings continued until the end of the regular season, the effects of overloading the sure-to-win team including Kang-ryul Kim, Cheol-won Jeong, Myeong-shin Kim, and Geon-hee Hong were clearly visible.
Fans who were so disappointed ended up expressing their disappointment towards the club in various ways. Comments were left on the club’s social media, and some fans even booed Coach Lee at the stadium. There was a mix of regrets, such as critical game management mistakes that could have resulted in missing the opportunity to take third place in the regular season, and the rapid elimination from fall baseball. The club tried to appease angry fans a little with an apology.
Doosan pledged to do its best to prevent fans from being disappointed anymore by climbing to a higher level in the 2024 season. This is in line with the resolution that Coach Lee made after being eliminated from the fall baseball season.안전놀이터
Coach Lee said, “Thanks to the players, we won a lot and played fall baseball, but we had a winning percentage of over .500. I think I gained confidence that I can go even higher next year, even if it’s just a little bit. It was hard, but I think I had a good time with the players. “I have shortcomings, so I think I will make up for them during the fall and off-season and go to a higher place next year,” he said.
He then pointed out points that need to be improved. Manager Lee said, “Looking back on this season, there were many weaknesses in the batting line. Since the overall team batting average, RBI, and runs scored were at the bottom numerically, it seems that the pitchers had a difficult season as well. The pitchers were under pressure and gave up runs. “I think this is a season where I have a lot of physical and mental fatigue because I go out with the mindset that I will lose if I do anything. I need to think first about how I can play aggressive baseball next year,” he said.
He added, “Jeong Cheol-won and Kim Myung-shin threw a lot this year. There were two pitchers who were that reliable. Next year, rather than placing too much weight on such players, we plan to spread it out and prepare the pitchers who will throw behind them to avoid overloading them.”