The strength of Lotte Giants and Kiwoom Heroes has dropped significantly. Now, if it falls further, the precipice of failure in the 23rd season is right in front of our eyes.
In August, the joys and sorrows of each team in the middle and lower ranks are clearly mixed. Among them, 7th place Lotte Giants are experiencing a more difficult time side by side during the heat wave with 3 consecutive losses and 9th place Kiwoom Heroes with 7 consecutive losses.
The problem is that there are teams that are gradually widening the gap by significantly raising their recent performance compared to them. The relative difference shows the hardships of Lotte and Kiwoom in a more stark contrast.
In fact, 5th place KT Wiz recorded 4 wins and 1 loss, showing a miracle season of entering the semifinals aiming for fall baseball at the bottom. The current ranking is 5th, but it continues to rise with an odds rate of 0.652 in June, an odds rate of 0.684 in July, and an odds rate of 0.800 in August. There is no difference in game rides with NC Dinos and Doosan Bears in joint 3rd place, 5.5 games with Lotte in 7th place, and Hanwha in 8th place with a gap of 7.5 games.
The 6th place KIA Tigers is also continuing a good trend with 3 consecutive wins. 8 wins and 2 losses in the last 10 matches. With an odds rate of 0.688 in July and an odds rate of 0.800 in August, it was also on the rise as sure as KT. The final 5, the last line for entering fall baseball, which once seemed completely distant, is now approaching. Like KT, the tie for the 3rd place group and the game ride is not large at 1.5 games.
As such, the biggest concern for Lotte and Kiwoom is that the current team situation is experiencing difficulties, and along with KT-KIA, the top 5 of LG, SSG, and NC is showing signs of gradually solidifying. If you are not invited to fall baseball, the goals you have been running for the 2023 season will inevitably fade, but it is even more painful because the unfortunate situation is gradually becoming a reality.
It’s time to recover the team and race again, but the loss of strength is also a burden factor for Lotte and Kiwoom. In the current situation, where each team has played a minimum of 88 games and a maximum of 100, the widening gap could be more catastrophic. There are not many opportunities to make a rebound now.
Even if they are in the same lower ranks, the details of Lotte and Kiwoom are different. In addition, the recent atmosphere of Hanwha and Samsung, which are staying in the lower ranks together, has another temperature difference with them.
First of all, in the case of 7th place Lotte, the recent sluggishness is remarkable enough that it is colorless that it was a team that was in the lead from April to June. With an odds ratio of 0.360 in June, an odds ratio of 0.294 in July, and an odds ratio of 0.200 in August, the decline is evident. Recently, they have suffered three consecutive losses, but the ups and downs in their performance are also evident. If this trend is not cut off, the rest of the season could be even more bleak.
On the other hand, 8th place Hanwha is in a bad mood with 1 win and 4 losses in August, but there are elements that can be hoped for in that they have shaken off the atmosphere of April, when they had the worst start with an odds ratio of 0.261, and have played relatively well from May to July. . There are times when they still show disappointment in their offensive power, but they are one of the teams with the most expectations among the lower-ranking teams in that the power of pitching and hitting is taking their place.
The 10th place Samsung Lions also played well in July with 9 wins, 1 draw and 8 losses with a win rate of 0.529, with a win rate of more than 50%. In addition, August is also relatively good with 3 wins and 2 losses. Although the number of matches against KT in 5th place is very large at 9.5 games, the offensive power of the team batting average (0.336) in the second half is the biggest driving force for miracles.
On the other hand, 9th place Kiwoom fell into a deep pit with 7 consecutive losses. After Lee Jung-hoo’s injury season and the trade of Korean ace Choi Won-tae, the team has virtually completely lost momentum for the season. After playing 100 games, it fell to 9th place. At the earliest, it is highly likely to effectively end the season.꽁머니지급
Kiwoom’s remaining season is more likely to be a lonely ‘fight of their own’ that has nothing to do with ranking fights in reality. Rather than challenges and adventures, how to finish the season is now more important to Kiwoom. Fall baseball hopes are almost gone, but the season isn’t over yet, and there are fans watching them.