Giants pitcher Kim hopes to prove naysayers wrong
As one of the top closers in Korean baseball, Lotte Giants reliever Kim Wonjung has gotten the final outs in his fair share of games, but none that have quenched his thirst.
Kim’s ultimate goal is to get the very last out of a season and cap off a Korean Series victory for the Giants.
The Giants last won a Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) title in 1992. With the LG Twins having ended their title drought at 29 years in 2023, the Giants now own the longest championship-less streak in the KBO.
Kim himself has only pitched postseason baseball in 2017, and the Giants have been on the outside looking in over the past six seasons.
Pundits don’t see this year’s Giants as a title contender, either, but when Kim looks at his own roster, he sees a playoff team.
“I don’t think we’re a pushover at all,” Kim said defiantly, during a media scrum at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. Kim and his team returned home from spring training in Japan.
“I think we are a balanced team with no glaring weaknesses,” Kim
We are a balanced team with no glaring weaknesses.
I think we’ve just been unlucky.
added. “I think we’ve just been unlucky. If we can put it all together, we’re definitely capable of being one of the top teams in the league.”
Kim said his goal from one year to the next never changes.
“My ultimate goal is to be on the mound in the moment when the baseball season ends in Korea,” Kim said. “I think we can enjoy that moment sooner or later. I’d love to experience that this year or next year.”
Kim, who recorded 30 saves and pitched to a career-best 2.97 ERA last year, is the captain of the pitching staff. The 30-year-old said he was pleased with the work put in by some of the team’s younger pitchers during spring training, which only fueled his optimism for the new season.
It will be the Giants’ first season under their new skipper, Kim Tae-hyoung. Kim managed the Doosan Bears to seven consecutive Korean Series appearances, from 2015 to 2021, and won three championships in that span.
Whether that championship pedigree will rub off on the Giants immediately remains to be seen.
“He created an environment where everyone got on the same page,” Kim said. “He’s a no-nonsense type of manager, and I respect that about him.”