Hyundai and Doosan Crash with Opponent Killers Armed

Doosan manager Kim In-Sik expressed his strategy to assign an imported pitcher Cole an important role in playoffs with the Hyundai starting from 12th. Cole stayed in the dugout in the semi-playoff game one, and pitched just three innings after the game was already determined in the middle of the game. He did not receive the trust from manager Kim due to the poor performance facing the Hanwha in the regular season with one win and one loss, and 7.82 ERA.

However, Cole has shown his outstanding pitches when encountering the Hyundai. He recorded 27 strikeouts, one win and one loss, and 3.75 ERA at 100 Hyundai`s bats, the largest among his teammates.

Although the regular season record is actually not a big deal in the short-period postseason contest, good results are always brought up by good process.

The last year`s Korean Series contenders, Hyundai and Doosan ended this year`s pennant race in a tie at 9 wins, 1 draw and 9 losses. Throughout their close contests, both teams have possessed the opponent killers respectively.

`A kingdom of pitchers` Hyundai`s starting ace Lim Sun-Dong recently won two straight victories in games with the Doosan, earning the nickname of `a new bear killer`. And Jeon Joon-Ho has pitched the strong games with the Doosan, capturing alone three wins (1 loss) among the team`s nine wins over the Doosan.

The fans also have been interested in the contest for pride between Hyundai Shim Jung-Soo and Doosan Shim Jae-Hak, who changed their uniforms each other after last season.

Shim Jung-Soo, who had blasted game-deciding home runs in three straight games in the playoffs with the LG, is ready for leading his team to the Korean series victimizing his former team. The Doosan`s leading hitter, Shim Jae-Hak also stands ready to demonstrate the dazzling batting sense, that he has shown in the semi-playoffs recording 4 hits out of 9 bats, and 2 RBIs.

In the regular season, facing the Doosan, Shim Jung-Soo recorded 0.300 BA, the team`s best 17 RBIs, and 5 home runs in spite of the injuries. And Shim Jae-Hak also earned the comparable record of 0.368 BA and 17 RBIs in games with the Hyundai.

It is also interesting who could be `another Hong Won-Ki` in the quarrel on a single-log bridge to the Korean Series. The game might be determined by the emergence of `an unexpected star` like Hong Won-Ki, who played the fabulous playoffs with the heavy blows and the stable defense.

Kim Jong-Seok kjs0123@donga.com