From manager Larry Sutton to senior officials, they emphasized the importance of ‘one team’. The entire coaching staff vowed to work together to reach the top. This year’s catchphrase was also “The Power of One”. “The Power of One” expressed the team’s commitment to fall baseball. In his postgame comments, Coach Sutton always says, “We won as a ‘One Team’.” ‘One Team’ is the direction Lotte will pursue in 2023, and it is an expression of determination.카지노
However, the team’s performance has dropped recently, and it is hard to see it as a ‘one team’. As of the 26th of this month, the team is 6-16 in June and has entered a downward spiral. They were once in sole possession of first place, but have since fallen from their solid third-place position and are now in danger of falling to fourth. To make matters worse, there are cracks in the ‘one team’. Recently, Lotte has been experiencing a series of coaching staff resignations, with the latest one coming on the 27th against Samsung.
Lee Jong-woon, the head coach of the Futures team, moved to the first team. Park Heung-sik, who was the head coach and hitting coach, has been relieved of his senior role and will focus on the main hitting coach position, and Bae Young-soo, the pitching coach, has been moved to the position of general manager of the Futures. Bae’s position will be filled by Training Coach Kim Hyun-wook.
The LOTTE coaching staff became a “one-man team” during the season, often having dinner together. The coaching staff had been encouraging each other, but there were suspicions of corruption. All of the coaches and managers were recruited and appointed by Sung Min-kyu.
Initially, Sung tried to develop young coaches alongside the players and brought in foreign coaches to bring in their know-how, but this didn’t work in the first team. Eventually, he admitted his failure and brought in veteran coaches. The current senior leadership, including head coach Sung Min-kyu, made the move. Ahead of the 2022 season, the team brought in a series of veteran coaches, including Kim Pyeong-ho, Jeon Jun-ho, and Park Heung-sik, all of whom have been in the first team and have produced countless disciples. Kim Pyeong-ho was scheduled to join the team before the 2021 season, but his appointment was delayed by a year due to his death in the field.
The pitching coach, Bae Young-soo, also donned a Lotte uniform this season. We needed a charismatic leadership figure in the pitching department and chose Bae as the right person. In addition, the team also brought in training coach Kim Hyun-wook, nicknamed the “Viper. This is also the work of the current leadership team, including general manager Sung Min-kyu. Sutton gave Bae full control of the pitching staff this year. He also trusted Kim Hyun-wook in the training department.
Nevertheless, as the team began to slide, the name-calling allegations surfaced and the team was forced to move to the second team. Although unrelated to the protest allegations, Kim Pyeong-ho was also recently demoted to the second team and Na Kyung-min was promoted.
Both Lotte and Coach Sutton denied the allegations. “The decision (to reshuffle the coaching staff) was made to refresh the atmosphere of the team,” Sutton said, adding that the team’s performance in June was poor compared to April and May. “There is no problem,” he said of the coaching staff discord. Lotte also said, “It’s not a protest,” and added, “As a foreign manager, when the manager and coaches talk to each other and have different opinions, their voices get raised. We may blush while reconciling conflicting opinions, but it’s not a protest.” Nevertheless, we can’t help but be suspicious.
If the “one team” cracks and falls apart, everyone will eventually fall apart. As mentioned at the beginning, Lotte has been in crisis since June. The players, the coaching staff, and the organization failed to react quickly enough in the run-up to the crisis. This is why the team is not a cog in the wheel.
Sutton’s contract runs through this year. He took over midway through 2021, had a honeymoon period, and finished last year with disappointing results. This year, he needs to show results. Sung Min-kyu was also re-signed last year, but if he doesn’t make it to fall baseball, he won’t be able to guarantee his future.
Your job as the head of the field, the head of the front desk, depends on your performance this year. We have to perform somehow. Therefore, it is natural that they should work together as a ‘one-team’ to win. However, the most basic thing is that Lotte is not doing well at the moment.
Also, the top brass, including head coach Sung Min-kyu, are managing the roster. However, there is also a separate nurturing part that manages the second team in charge of futures. It is ironic that the top management and the nurturing part are not united, but divided.
If Lotte’s performance continues to decline and the possibility of fall baseball becomes less likely, the Lotte Baseball Club may not be Lotte Baseball Club. Since last year, the baseball team has been under the management and supervision of Lotte Holding, the de facto headquarters of the Lotte Group. Chairman Shin Dong-bin’s interest in the baseball team is also growing. Prior to his resignation on March 13, Shin presented the players and officials with boxed lunches, watched the entire game, and came down to the field to encourage them.
In the end, Lotte’s season should be a winnow. There is no reason or need to look ahead to next year. If they don’t perform as a “one-man team,” their current system will eventually implode.