He enters the Korean Series without any conclusions. It's a chaotic situation, but I can't even draw a conclusion.
Rumors of LG Twins batting coach Lee Ho-joon's nomination of a new SSG Landers coach have passed the Korean Series with curiosity.
After Game 5 of the playoffs ended on the 5th, media reports revealed that coach Lee was included in SSG's candidate group for coach, and other media outlets later reported that "Coach Lee has been nominated as SSG coach and will announce it after the Korean Series."
With KT Wiz overcoming the crisis of losing two consecutive games and beating the NC Dinos with three consecutive wins to advance to the Korean Series, the baseball community quickly changed from a playoff atmosphere to a managerial appointment atmosphere.
SSG jumped, and coach Lee himself jumped. SSG denied the coach's nomination, saying he is still in the process of appointing a coach.
In the past, there have been cases where a coach of a team that advanced to the Korean Series was born as a new coach of another team. It happened not once or twice, but three times in the Doosan Bears. Doosan responded differently on all three occasions.
In 2017, Doosan played the Korean Series against the regular league champion KIA Tigers. However, rumors circulated inside that Han Yong-deok, the senior coach, was going to head the Hanwha Eagles. Players have already congratulated them. In such a chaotic situation, Doosan won Game 1, but later lost the Korean Series title to KIA with four consecutive losses. And the day after the Korean Series, Hanwha announced the appointment of senior coach Han Yong-deok as a coach.
In 2018, Doosan won the regular league title to reach the Korean Series. However, even then, a new coach of another team was born. Senior coach Lee Kang-chul was appointed as the new coach of KT Wiz. Doosan asked coaches who were leaving the team after the Korean Series to inform them in advance to avoid the same clutter as last year, and coach Lee told the truth. After consulting with the club, he asked to reveal the appointment of the coach in advance, and KT announced this fact on October 20.
Coach Lee said, "I was worried about the timing of the manager's acceptance and announcement, and Doosan manager Kim Tae-hyung, president and general manager were very considerate," adding, "The Doosan and KT clubs agreed that presenting at this point is a way to minimize confusion for the team and focus more on the Korean Series." Coach Lee then said, "After helping Doosan win its sixth Korean Series, I will serve as KT manager with a happy and light heart."
However, Doosan ended up losing to the SK Wyverns with 2 wins and 4 losses as closer Kim Kang-ryul was injured while preparing for the Korean Series, and fourth batter Kim Jae-hwan was injured and left in the second round. Coach Lee then moved to KT and transformed it into a "miracle team."
Doosan also created a new coach in 2020. On November 6, 2020, the SK Wyverns appointed Kim Won-hyung, then Doosan pitching coach, as their new manager. At this time, it was not the Korean Series, but the postseason. Doosan won the semi-playoff against LG and is about to play off against KT. It was clearly unusual to announce the appointment of a coach for a postseason club as manager. It was the result of consultation between SK and Doosan. This time, Doosan decided to send coach Kim to SK first. Coach Kim joined SK in the playoffs to lead the finishing training, and Doosan raised Chung Jae-hoon, who was a bullpen coach, as the main pitching coach, and Bae Young-soo, a second-tier pitching coach, to the first-tier bullpen coach, to the rest of the playoffs and the Korean Series.
So far, SSG and coach Lee Ho-joon's situation can be seen as the situation under coach Han Yong-deok, not under coach Lee Kang-chul or Kim Won-hyung. However, there is a precedent like this, and if SSG really does not inform LG in advance even though it has nominated coach Lee as its coach, it can be said that it is against manners.
There's already been a lot of rumors There is even an article in the media. Since SSG and Coach Lee have denied, can the Korean Series be held casually just because it is over. SSG said coach Lee was included in the candidate group and said it will select the final candidate after the Korean Series. In other words, coach Lee is still a candidate for SSG coach. Now, people can't help but suspecting the final candidates after the Korean Series, even because of Lee.
LG hopes coach Lee's future will not be a problem for winning the Korean Series. This is because the team, which has only been established for three years after acquiring SK for 29 years, is aiming for a championship cup that has not been touched in years that has never been imagined.
Although it was unintentional, SSG was forced to set foot in the Korean Series between LG and KT. The general manager's words, "Coach Lee is included in the candidate group for the coach," are shaking the Korean Series.