When South Korea’s version of the World Series opens Monday, an unsavory off-field scandal will threaten to take away some of the spotlight that should be reserved for action on the diamond.
The four-time defending champion Samsung Lions will take on the Doosan Bears in the best-of-seven Korean Series starting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Daegu Stadium, the Lions’ home. The Korea Baseball Organization championship final is ripe with great storylines: this is the fifth Korean Series showdown between the two clubs, with each having won two titles in their previous meetings. In their last clash in 2013, the Lions overcame a 3-1 series deficit to win their third straight title. It was a defeat so devastating that the Bears fired their manager, Kim Jin-wook, in the aftermath.
As the Bears eye to exact revenge, though, the Korean Series will open under a cloud of a gambling scandal surrounding Samsung players.
Last week, the Lions announced they’d keep three pitchers off the Korean Series roster. The decision was made several days after a report claimed that three “key” unidentified Samsung players were facing an investigation for illegal overseas gambling charges.
Though prosecutors have said they have no immediate plan to launch an investigation, the Lions were under pressure to take action. Without identifying the players — saying they hadn’t been formally charged — the Lions decided to leave the suspected players out of the championship final.
Legal issues aside, the public will at least find out later Sunday which pitchers won’t be in uniform for the Lions, when both of the contestants announce their Korean Series rosters.
On the surface, the Lions have maintained a “business-as-usual” attitude in their runup to the Korean Series — they had the bye to the final and haven’t played since the regular season ended on Oct. 5 — but manager Ryu Joong-il admitted last week the situation was weighing heavily on him.
“It’s just that much more difficult to handle because it’s happening before the Korean Series,” Ryu said. “I just hope the players will all be cleared of the charges in the end.”
Without those players available, the onus will fall on the offense to carry the day.
The Lions boasted the KBO’s most balanced attack during the regular season, with a league-best .302 team batting average and 1,515 hits.
In going 11-5 against the Bears during the season, the Lions belted 20 home runs and scored 123 runs.
Veteran slugger Lee Seung-yuop played in 14 of those games and batted .492 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. Rookie sensation Koo Ja-wook hit .417 against Doosan. Yamaico Navarro, the hard-hitting second baseman, had seven home runs and 23 RBIs in 15 games against the Bears.
Also working in the Lions’ favor is that the Bears were forced to use their top two starters, right-hander Dustin Nippert and lefty Jang Won-jun, last Thursday and Saturday, respectively, against the NC Dinos in the previous round.
Nippert threw 16 shutout innings in two starts to be voted the series MVP. He pitched in Game 4 on three days’ rest, and the 34-year-old coming off an injury-plagued regular season likely won’t be asked to make another start on short rest Monday. Jang, who held the Dinos to four earned runs in 13 innings, pitched in the series decider Saturday and may not be available until Game 3 on Thursday. (Yonhap)
