KT Wiz second-team Futures coach Kim Ki-tae is taking a break from baseball.
A KT club official said on July 7, “Coach Kim Ki-tae recently resigned after leading the team until the end of last month after finishing the Future League. General manager (Nado Hyun) and head coach (Lee Kang-cheol) strongly urged him to leave, but he decided to leave the team for a while.”
“Coach Kim has been running nonstop for the past few years. He told the club that he needed to recharge and rest.”
Kim made his debut with the Ssangbangul Raiders in 1991 and played 15 seasons with the Ssangbangul, Samsung Lions, and SK Wyverns (now the SSG Landers). After retiring, he worked as a hitting coach for SK and the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
He later served as the head coach of the LG Twins Futures and then as the first team manager. From 2015 to 2019, he was the head coach of the KIA Tigers. He led the team to the 2017 championship and earned a spot on the KBO’s all-time greats list.
In 2021, Kim was recognized for his leadership skills by becoming the head coach of the Yomiuri second team, where he nurtured prospects. He then guided the players as the first team hitting coach.
In October of last year, he was named head coach of the KT Futures. At the time, KT President Nado Hyun said, “We brought him in to strengthen the synergy with the first team through systematic development. Kim is a proven leader who has worked with both the Future Team and the first team. We judged him to be the right person to strengthen the development of prospects.”
Earlier this year, Kim joined KT’s 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) squad led by Lee Kang-chul as hitting coach. He was dropped before the tournament began due to fatigue. After recovering, he returned to KT in May. He led the Future Team for the rest of the year.
KT has named first-team pitching coach Kim Tae-han to the position of Futures manager, which was vacated by Kim’s resignation.
A club official said, “We need continuity between the first and second teams. We need to maintain the system. We decided that it would be better for Coach Kim Tae-han, who knows the team well rather than an outside person, to take charge of the Future Team.” “The coaching staff for the first and second teams will be finalized and announced. We are gathering ideas on how to minimize the gap and provide continuity.”