“After taking a break and studying for two years, I learned that you have to use a lot of cards at the beginning of the season to have a lot of weapons at the end of the season.”
LG coach Yeom Kyeong-yeop has a style of carefully planning everything from the finishing camp and spring camp to plans C to D for the season. Still, baseball is a living thing, and no one knows what will happen to anyone or when over the course of 144 games. It has been almost a year since Director Yeom took charge of LG, and it is dizzying to look back on his past.
This is true just by looking at the mound. Among the cards that were constants during the previous manager’s time, there are cards that do not work properly. There is a bit of a curve starting from the ending, Go Woo-seok. This includes setup man Jung Woo-young, starters Kim Yun-sik and Lee Min-ho. Although he recently recovered, Casey Kelly also had a bad day throughout the season. During this critical period, Adam Plutko was completely absent.
No matter how thoroughly Director Yeom prepares, it is impossible to prepare for all these variables. Director Yeom realized something while working as a coach and general manager at Heroes, SK, and LG for about 10 years. In the early part of the season, when there is comparatively more time in the battle for rankings, it is necessary to use as many players as possible without disturbing the existing power framework as much as possible.
In fact, LG has as many as 32 pitchers who have used the first team until the Gwangju KIA game on the 8th. There are 33 players, including Son Ju-young, who will be the starting pitcher in the second game of the doubleheader against KIA on the 9th. It is overwhelming compared to other clubs. This means that things did not go as planned, and considering that he ranked first with a team ERA of 3.65, it can be said that Manager Yeom’s ability to adapt, resourcefulness, and insight stood out.스포츠토토
Coach Yeom Kyeong-yeop said ahead of the Gwangju KIA game on the 8th, “If we had insisted on starters Lee Min-ho and Kim Yun-sik and bullpens Jung Woo-young and Lee Jeong-yong, we would have been in 4th place right now. “If he doesn’t challenge himself, he will never be able to develop a player.” The best scenario is to confirm the effectiveness and justification of each plan established in the closing camp at spring camp and demonstrate its effectiveness in the season.
However, if you are caught up in numerous variables that may not impress you, you must activate Plan B at that moment. Coach Yeom worked with the coaching staff and the team to immediately suggest customized solutions to each individual, and through long-term collaboration, he saved players who needed to be saved. Representative examples include Kelly, Kim Yun-sik, who pitched well against KIA on the 8th, Lee Jeong-yong, who switched from the bullpen to a starter, and Lim Chan-gyu, who struggled in the starting lineup until the middle of the season.
In the meantime, there are many newly discovered cards in the bullpen. Representative examples include Yoo Young-chan, Park Myung-geun, and Baek Seung-hyeon. Regarding Oh Seok-joo, who left in the final score of the Suwon KT match on the 7th, “He is a pitcher we saved from the major tour (since his days as the Heroes coach, he has been intentionally providing first-team experience to prospects and inducing a driving force for growth). “Even though his velocity is slow, his breaking balls are diverse and command.” Deok-Joo Ham was also unable to settle down after the trade, but made a comeback after meeting Coach Yeom.
Some of these people may have been somewhere in plan B, C, or D during camp. However, it is also true that it was effective to not only rely on existing resources but to boldly use them in the first team to find a way out. Director Yeom said, “After leaving SK, I took a break for two years and studied various things. When he has diversity, his team performs much better. He said, “I have to use several cards at the beginning of the season so that I have a lot of weapons at the end of the season.”
Of course, Coach Yeom acknowledged that it is much more likely that LG had developed its depth well in advance before he took office. This part is the competency of LG’s front office. This means that if the ingredients are missing and poor, even CEO Baek Jong-won cannot make a delicious dish. In fact, Director Yeom said, “If you do that, there are a lot of failures. “More than 50% said that,” he said, adding, “LG was able to do this because it had a lot of resources.”
In the end, Director Yeom has turned over each card to see whether it is a hidden card or a fake in order to win the presidency, and it must be seen that it is coming to fruition. It was definitely a big risk, but he overcame it with the club’s preparation and his own know-how. As a result, the number of cards that LG can use in the first team has increased significantly compared to previous years.
Director Yeom said he would do the same again in the future if a similar situation arises. In particular, he pointed out that bullpen pitchers are the least consistent and stable part. Unless a pitcher has a solid pitch, it is difficult to find a bullpen that can last for more than 2-3 years.
We are no longer in an era where a team of 2 or 3 can fight back for years. Coach Yeom also checked and prepared for this trend in modern baseball early on. For reference, the reason KIA, the partner for this four-game series, has improved its bullpen this year is because it does not rely on one or two specific players to make a winning team.