Baseball Pre-season Spring Training ended over the weekend. I saw only three games and all three home teams lost (Samsung v. LG, Lotte v. SK, SK v. Nexen). And from what little I’ve seen, this is what I can assess.
LG, Doosan, Lotte, and Nexen look good so far, but I doubt that they will maintain that order for the entire season. Pre-season is anyone's bluff and some teams don't (and shouldn't) take this period too seriously. However--if anything--I do think Doosan and LG have a strong balance which Samsung Lions lack; they have some disappointing pitchers and not very good on the outfield. SK, ironically, has had a terrible start . The following link has all the stats. : http://www.mykbo.net/standings
Where aesthetic boundaries are concerned, my unscientific analysis in the following is what I think:
Best Stadium (so far): Munhak Stadium in Incheon. The newest baseball stadium to come into the foray in 2001, it can hold a maximum capacity of 28,500 compared to less than Daegu Stadium’s less than 14,000. The stadium is conveniently located right on Incheon subway’s Munhak Sports Complex station and has a bunch of cool amenities within the stadium such as a Burger King, Popeye’s, grass field for families to watch games, VIP box seats, and even an EMart sponsored barbecue zone to cook your own golgi (meat) with roof for those hot, sunny days. The sound system and video score board are top notch as well.
Munhak is not the biggest stadium. I’m not sure which stadium is bigger as I get conflicting information. Some say Jamsil in Seoul is bigger while others claim that Sajik Stadium can fill more people..
Worst Stadium: Daegu Stadium in Daegu. What is not debatable is that Daegu Stadium is one of the oldest baseball stadiums that’s still used. It was built in 1948 and can hold a capacity of ~10,000. And although almost every seat is a good seat with a good vantage point because of its intimacy, it is far from the subway stop and not as clean or has the swanky amenities shared by its Incheon counterpart. What lacks in substance is made up with a strong team. So hopefully, the games will be that much more exciting for me to go back again and again. Regardless, I will continue to go to Daegu Stadium because it is “home.”
When I read or hear about stadiums in the United States that have to be torn down to make way for a new one, I get pissed off. Case in point, Candlestick Park in SF was planned to be demolished for a new one. Honestly, it would be a great home in Daegu for the Samsung Lions. I really can’t justify (and at the taxpayers’ expense) to create another stadium when a perfectly fine one is in existence.
Best Fans: Lotte Giants. Hands down! They have this contagious spirit and unique customs that only Lotte Giants fans can make up. The famous one is wearing an orange plastic bag on the top of the heads as a hat with the handles tied around the ears. Fans wait for hours on the day of the event just to get a usually sold-out ticket. And if you’re planning on a special event such as a championship game or better match-ups in the season--forget it. They’re either sold out via GMarket or Interpark online or through another artery that I don’t know. I have a close affinity with this team because it reminds me of San Francisco. The jerseys are quite similar--black, white, and orange. Funny thing is that I hated baseball back in the US.
Worst Fans: Samsung Lions. By this, I mean the amount of support from the community. It seems like baseball is such an anomaly compared to the other big cities in Korea. But having said that, the fans that do watch the games are very much loyal and it’s still fun to support the Lions on any given day.
Now that the baseball season will start in a few days, I can’t wait to go watch the other teams play on their “home turf” in the other cities and stadiums I have yet to see this year.
So which teams do I support? I actually support most of the teams. I really don’t know much about Hanwha Eagles, KIA Tigers or Nexen Heroes; some have said that there’s not much to like about those teams. But given the chance and opportunity, I might support them as well. In the Asia Cup or Asian Games, I do root for Korea as they are one of the few powerhouses in Asia; the others are Japan and a very distant Taiwan.
Naturally, Samsung Lions is the one team I care the most because that is the home team and they’ve been strong last season. However, I do think that they make very careless errors on the outfield and the pitching is not that great. Lotte Giants is a close second because of the fan support, strong resemblance to SF Giants, and the short bus ride from Daegu to watch the games--which make it easier to follow team progress.
So while I would root for most if not all Korean teams, my favorites would have to be Samsung Lions and Lotte Giants.
However, in terms of predicting the final team standing for this upcoming season, the following is my ranking.:
1. LG
2. Doosan
3. SK
4. Lotte
5. Samsung
6. KIA
7. Nexen
8. Hanwha
Sadly, I agree with the comment made by Soon-Chul Lee, Ex Haitai (Kia) Tigers CF and Ex LG Twins Manager; he’s currently a baseball commentator. Source: www.mykbo.net
Direct and Rough Translation
삼 성은 투수진인은 안정적인데 야수교통정리가 필요할것같다 가코선수가 들어오면서 채태인 박석민 가코 세선수가 겹치면서 조금복잡했졌다 한선수는 벤치를지켜야하는것이다 다행이도 가코선수가 30홈런정도쳐주면 문제가 안되는데 지금스윙으로 봐서는 그홈런숫자가 나오지
않 을가능성이 커보이기 때문이다 그러면 감독이 표방하는공격야구는 이루어지지않을가능성이있다 오키나와 캠프때까지는 희망보다는 불안감을더안겨주고있는가코선수다 장거리 타자형보다는 중단거리 이문제가 해결이 안되면 스텝고민이 깊어질것같다 그리고 장원삼선수도 이제
롱토스수준이기 때문에 4월 중순이후부터 정상적인투구가 가능할것같다 그공백은다른선수가 메울수가 있는데 타순이문제가 양준혁선수가 은퇴하고 딱히 삼성을대
대표할만한 선수가 없다는것이 계속해서 고민거리가 될것같다 그래서 과거에 이승엽 양준혁 이렇게대형선수들이 있었는데 그모습이없다 가코선수가 해결하지않으면 포지션겹치는것도 타순도 약해지고 여러가지 문제가 될것같다
Samsung got stable pitching staff but fielders need some kind of traffic control. Since Ryan Garko signed, Chae Tae-In, Park Suk-min, and Garko got same position (1B maybe). One player has to warm the bench. If Garko can hit 30 HR, it would be a problem. But, this kind of swing seems unlikely.
The new manager's attacking style of play would not be possible. Ryan Garko is giving more of an unpleasant feeling than hope till the Okinawa camp. He's not a HR hitter, he's a 2 base hit maker. Samsung staff must have stress and headache dealing with this.
Now, Jang Won-sam (who got traded from Nexen last year) just started the long toss. which means he can start practice in April.
That kind problem can be solved by other players. But, batting is a problem. After Yang Joon-hyuk retired, there weren't that many hitters who can represent Samsung. That should be a headache for Samsung staff too. There were big players like Lee Seung-Yup or Yang Joon-hyuk. Now, there is no one. If Garko cannot solve this problem, the lineup would be weakened and cause a bunch of problems.
Oh well, it''s all speculation so let's have fun, watch some exciting games and...Play Ball!
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