Kiwoom Heroes suffered a shocking 9 consecutive defeats in a tie, the most in 5196 days. After Lee Jung-hoo (24) was left out, the team is collapsing with a win rate in the 10% range. The time has come to find the categorical proposition of survival.

Kiwoom lost the regular season home game 1-3 against the Lotte Giants in the 2023 Professional Baseball KBO League held at Gocheok Sky Dome on the 8th. As a result, Kiwoom fell into a pit of 9 consecutive losses, the most in the season, since the match against Gocheok Samsung on July 29th.

Kiwoom, who increased the number of defeats on this day to 9 consecutive losses, took on a new dishonorable record. It was the 2009 Heroes franchise’s 9-game losing streak, which was tied once again. As for the date, it is a bitter situation of 9 consecutive losses experienced in 5196 days after the first game of the LG doubleheader on May 17, 2009.

Kiwoom recorded a win rate of 0.414 with 41 wins, 3 draws and 57 losses in the season, and on the same day, the lowest placed Samsung Lions lost, narrowly avoiding falling to the bottom. However, it seems that the atmosphere or flow of the team has subsided to such an extent that it is difficult to find hope for now.

Above all, it is the current Kiwoom where the void left by Lee Jung-hoo, who was the center of the team, feels so great. In fact, Kiwoom only recorded 2 wins, 1 draw and 11 losses in 14 games since Lee Jung-hoo left on the 23rd of last month, and the period win rate is only 0.154. Kiwoom is the only team that has not won a single win since August with the lowest score in the league during the same period.

The game on the 8th was also Kiwoom, where the existence of a solver was desperately needed, a role that Lee Jung-hoo played before leaving the injury. In fact, on this day, Kiwoom hit 8 hits, not far behind Lotte’s 10 hits, but ended up with no hits in a situation where there were countless scoring positions. The only score was a solo home run by Kim Hui-jip in the bottom of the 8th inning with no runners.

Even during the game on this day, Kim Hye-seong was hit by his own foul hit and was replaced, and Kiwoom felt the gap even more. Fortunately, Kim Hye-sung’s CT diagnosis result came out as a simple bruise, and Kiwoom was relieved, but at present, the team’s offensive power is hitting the floor so that it is difficult to find a solution even if he returns.

In fact, during the period after Lee Jung-hoo left, Kiwoom’s team OPS is 0.633, only at the bottom of the league. None of their 14 games have scored in double digits, and only five have scored more than five points. Moreover, even the mound, which supported Kiwoom even in a difficult season after Lee Jung-hoo’s departure, is experiencing double trouble as the team’s average ERA has fallen to the bottom with an ERA of 5.53.

The current hardships of Kiwoom are comparable to those of the early days of the founding, which suffered from the club name and official sponsor changing every year since its foundation in 2008. In fact, in 2008, our Heroes recorded 50 wins, 76 losses and a win rate of 0.397 in 126 games, ranking 7th out of 8 clubs. Even during the Heroes in 2009, when there was no official sponsor and was in charge of consignment management in the KBO League, it ranked 6th in the final with a win rate of 0.451 with 60 wins, 1 draw and 72 losses.

If you simply compare Kiwoom’s current win rate of 0.414, it is better than 2008 (0.397), but rather worse than 2009 (0.451).

Even with the exception of 2022, when it performed well, such as finishing second in the Korean Series as runner-up, Kiwoom has established itself as a representative dark horse in the KBO League by consistently posting results above the upper-middle level. In the 2020s, except for this year, there has not been a single season where the win rate has been below 50%.

The darkest period in the history of the Heroes club was 2010-2011. Heroes, who had a win rate of 30% for two consecutive seasons, have consistently posted a win rate of more than 50% since 2013.

Then, the win rate of 2017 was only 0.486, which is almost the only season of disappointing results that baseball fans can think of. Like this, unlike the appearance of a solid team by being invited to fall baseball every season, the Heroes are having a disappointing season this year.

Kiwoom Heroes coach Hong Won-ki, who was asked by reporters about the situation related to the 8-game losing streak before the game on the 9th and the situation in which the team’s win rate fell after Lee Jung-hoo’s departure, told a serious story that was so meaningful that it seemed even at first glance to be spleen.메이저놀이터

Director Hong Won-ki said, “In the end, you have to endure this part. If I say that the team collapses so easily just because a certain player is missing, then I am wrong in my preparation. He said, “In the end, if the team depth is thicker and we want to become a strong team, it seems to be a time when we desperately feel that the team should not collapse easily just because one or two players are missing.”

At the same time, coach Hong emphasized Kiwoom’s ability to stand right away without Lee Jung-hoo, saying, “Next season, we have to play without Lee Jung-hoo, but if we want to become a stronger team, we will have to prepare better for that part.” I did too.

It may be difficult for fans to accept, but in fact, breaking up with Lee Jung-hoo has become a reality, not an imagination. And the reality appeared as a result of 9 consecutive losses in Thailand, the most colder than expected. It is the current task for ‘Team Heroes’ to solve this hardship and move toward a stronger team. In addition, overcoming and evolution have become essential categorical propositions of survival.