Lions manager overjoyed with slugger's postseason heroics
By Yoo Jee-ho
DAEGU, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Lions manager Park Jin-man enjoyed some big moments during his illustrious playing career in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), winning Korean Series titles for multiple teams while flashing the leather as the best defensive shortstop of his generation.
But Park said Wednesday he had never seen anything quite like what Lions third baseman Kim Young-woong did on this cool October night -- hitting a game-tying three-run homer and then a go-ahead three-run homer to save the Lions' season.
The Lions beat the Hanwha Eagles 7-4 in Game 4 of the second-round series in the KBO postseason at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. The Lions trailed 4-0 at one point but tied the score with a four-spot in the sixth, highlighted by Kim's first three-run shot, and then took the lead for good with Kim's second three-run homer in the seventh.
The series is now tied at 2-2 and will be decided Friday.
"When we were down, Kim Young-woong grabbed us by the collar and put us back on our feet," Park said with a smile. "Throughout my career as a player, a coach and a manager, I've never felt this kind of exhilaration."
It showed in the way Park reacted to the home runs in the dugout, as he raised his arms and hugged whichever coach was in his vicinity when Kim connected on those shots.
"I honestly didn't think I was going to react that way," Park said. "It's awesome to see such a young player (at 22) to be playing so well in the postseason. Physically and mentally, he's an excellent player."
Park admitted he got the sense that this could be the last game of the season when the Lions went down 4-0.
"These players never gave up, and battled tooth and nail," the manager said. "That showed me we have a really powerful squad here."
Eagles skipper Kim Kyung-moon put the loss on himself, though he wouldn't go into details on where he'd gone wrong.
"It would have been nice to have finished off this series in four games," Kim said. "But we'll now try to play well in Game 5."
The first of the two Kim Young-woong home runs came off closer Kim Seo-hyeon, whose late-season struggles have continued in the postseason.
Manager Kim defended his 21-year-old pitcher and said, "His stuff wasn't all that bad."
"It's just a matter of confidence for him, because he's been getting knocked around lately," the skipper added. "We have the benefit of hindsight here. I think he pitched well today. And Seo-hyeon will pitch again in Game 5."
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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