Lotte’s Kim Tae-hyung takes over as head coach…”We’ll win in three years”

Kim Tae-hyung, who won three Korean Series titles as manager of Doosan and was dubbed the “championship hitter,” took over as manager of Lotte.

Kim has shown strong confidence that he will lead Lotte to a championship within the three years of his contract.

Reporter Lee Sang-jun reports.

[Report]

Taking over as the 21st manager of the Lotte Giants, Kim Tae-hyung’s first order of business was winning.

Kim vowed to reward fans with a championship within the three years of his contract by playing hot offensive baseball. 굿모닝토토

[Kim Tae-hyung/new Lotte manager: “The first goal is the postseason, and then I’ll aim for a championship, and I’ll work with the players to get good results.”]

Kim was dubbed a “championship hitter” after leading the team to seven straight Korean Series appearances and three championships as manager of Doosan, so expectations are higher than ever for the LOTTE players and fans.

[Koo Seung-min/Lotte pitcher: “I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of baseball you’re going to play, and I think it’s been like that (since the news of his appointment), so I’m looking forward to it the most.”]

[Kim Kwan-wook/Lotte baseball fan: “I’m already looking forward to Lotte baseball next year because a master with a lot of winning experience has been appointed as the manager of Lotte, and I hope Lotte will definitely play fall baseball next year.”]

Lotte, which finished this season in seventh place and failed to advance to fall baseball for the sixth consecutive year, will soon complete the formation of its new coaching staff, starting with the hiring of Kim.

The team is also planning to decide on a new general manager soon and begin signing free agents, external recruits, and foreign mercenaries.

Kim will lead the team from the final training session involving the first and second teams, and will prepare for next season by analyzing each player and making training plans.