SSG Landers, the reigning overall champions of the 2022 season, have been through a turbulent time. They’ve had a rough go of it with controversy of their own.
Last season, SSG won an unprecedented “wire-to-wire” title by securing the top spot in the regular season without losing a single game, and then defeated the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korean Series 4 games to 2 to win the unified title for the first time in 12 years since 2010.
A year later, SSG has become one of the most controversial teams in the KBO. It has been the loudest club in recent months.
It started with the firing of former head coach Kim Won-hyung.
SSG finished the regular season in third place and went straight to the semi-playoffs. However, their fall baseball ended prematurely with three straight losses to the NC Dinos.
Then, on March 31, in the midst of the playoffs, SSG announced that it was terminating the contract of former head coach Kim Won-hyung.
Although the team’s performance this year was disappointing considering last year’s championship, the decision to terminate Kim Won-hyung, who led the team to fall baseball for two consecutive years, was a bit of a surprise. It was even more surprising to dismiss the coach who signed a three-year contract after the 2022 season in one year.
SSG said, “We needed a leader who would lead change and innovation, not just performance. We needed a coach who would actively change the generation,” the club explained, but not many people were convinced.
Kim Won-hyung’s dismissal came as a surprise, 먹튀검증 and the next coach was highly anticipated. Eventually, Lee was named the new head coach.
The process was not smooth.
In the KBO, it’s customary to keep a tight lid on managerial candidates. In SSG’s case, however, it was revealed that LG Twins hitting coach Lee Ho-joon was a finalist for the job, and the team’s president admitted it, sending ripples through the league. The move was controversial as LG is on the cusp of the Korean Series.
The selection of Son Si-heon as the head coach of the Futures (second team) was also noisy. The team was criticized for breaking some sort of ‘business protocol’ by offering Son Si-heon, who was training in the U.S. with the support of an NC team, the second team manager position.
The team was also criticized for contacting coaches who had already been hired by other teams for the upcoming season while filling the vacancies created when coaches left the team after Kim Won-hyung’s dismissal.
The departure of Kim Kang-min, a “one-club man” for 23 years, to the Hanwha Eagles through the second round of the draft was the trigger for the worst publicity for SSG.
SSG excluded Kim from the 35-man roster of protected players in the secondary draft in favor of prospects, and Hanwha called Kim’s name with the 22nd overall pick in the fourth round.
SSG later said, “We were in talks with Kim Kang-min about his retirement game and coaching after his retirement. We didn’t expect to be drafted by another team in this situation. We are embarrassed.”
However, the process of SSG discussing retirement with Kim Kang-min was reportedly not smooth.
Unable to finalize the retirement discussion with Kim, which would have meant extending his active career, before the second draft, SSG did not write “retiring” on his name when the draft list was released. The team’s complacency in assuming that they wouldn’t be drafted backfired.
As public opinion worsened, SSG reportedly tried to convince Kim to retire, and the criticism intensified.
Kim’s departure also caused turmoil within the squad. Kim Kwang-hyun, SSG’s signature star and left-handed ace, said on his social networking service (SNS) account, “SNS is a waste of life, but I have to do it today. I respect someone’s choice, but I don’t think 23 years should be ignored,” he said.
The SSG’s solution to the controversy was to move former head coach Kim Sung-yong. On the 25th, SSG announced that “Kim Sung-yong will be transferred to the head of the R&D center to take responsibility for the controversy that arose during the recent manager and coach appointments and the second draft.”
The dismissal of Kim Sung-yong from his position proves that the club made the wrong decision last year.
SSG entrusted Kim Sung-yong with the front office after the abrupt resignation of Ryu Sun-gyu in December last year.
It was hard to believe that Ryu’s resignation was solely of his own volition.
Ryu, who is considered to have made a modest contribution to SSG’s unified championship, was actively engaged in external activities after the season ended, but his resignation was announced abruptly. It was widely believed that he was forced out of office due to internal issues.
After a month of controversy, 메이저 토토사이트 SSG was left without a front office at a time when it was in the midst of organizing its roster for next season, including signing foreign players. CEO Min Kyung-sam, who has experience as a head coach, will take center stage to minimize the gap, but there are concerns about disruptions.
We don’t know who SSG will choose as they search for a new head coach, but it’s clear that whoever comes in will be under tremendous pressure.