After falling just short of the championship, KT WIZ head coach Lee Kang-cheol said, “We lost, but I don’t think we lost. All of our players did a great job,” he said.
Lee took a knee and bowed his head to encourage his teammates at the official press conference after losing the fifth game of the 2023 Baseball Korea Series (KS) 2-6 against the LG Twins at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, to take a 1-4 series lead.
“First of all, I would like to congratulate LG on the championship,” Lee said, “and thank the fans and employees for their support. We will prepare well and make up for our shortcomings to play KT-like baseball next year.”
When Lee said the word ‘fans,’ he cried as if he was overcome with emotion.
“We had a lot of injuries, and we had difficulties in the beginning,” he said, “but many players stepped up and filled the vacant spots. Everyone did a good job and we got to this point,” he reflected.
“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t think we’d make it this far,” Lee said, “but it’s thanks to the players who didn’t give up and believed in me. Everyone worked hard.”
“We got a lot of good pitches (today) and that’s why we got this result. We lost, but I don’t think we lost. We did very well.”
KT fell to the bottom of the standings at the beginning of the year due to a series of injuries, but they made a frightening comeback and finished the regular season in second place.
In the playoffs (PO) against the NC Dinos, they dropped games 1 and 2 before winning games 3, 4, and 5 to punch their ticket to KS.
During the postseason, young pitchers such as Son Dong-hyun and Park Young-hyun made meaningful achievements.
“We didn’t win the championship, but we gained a lot,” Lee said, concluding the interview by saying, “I’m grateful for the year.” 슬롯