(LEAD) Dinos' manager confident in offensive depth in Korean Series

▲ Doosan Bears' manager Kim Tae-hyoung smiles at the Korean Series media day at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 16, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Park Kun-woo of the Doosan Bears celebrates his RBI single against the LG Twins in the top of the fourth inning of Game 2 of the Korea Baseball Organization first-round postseason series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Nov. 5, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ In this file photo from Sept. 23, 2020, Kwon Hui-dong of the NC Dinos tosses his bat after hitting a three-run home run against the Samsung Lions in the bottom of the second inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Changwon NC Park in Changwon, 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)

▲ NC Dinos' manager Lee Dong-wook speaks to reporters before Game 1 of the Korean Series against the Doosan Bears at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 17, 2020. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) Korean Series-manager

(LEAD) Dinos' manager confident in offensive depth in Korean Series

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By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- It's a luxury that few baseball managers get to enjoy, when a lineup is so deep that a 30-homer slugger is batting eighth in a championship series game.

NC Dinos' manager Lee Dong-wook has been doing this for most of the year in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), and he has inserted Aaron Altherr into the No. 8 spot in his deep lineup for Tuesday's Game 1 of the Korean Series against the Doosan Bears.

Altherr blasted 17 of his 31 regular season home runs from the eighth spot, while batting .325/.405/.685, by far his best triple slash line in any spot of the lineup.

Altherr began his first KBO season batting second or cleanup, but sensing that the former major leaguer was pressing too much at the plate amid early struggles, Lee moved him down to eighth in late May. He has mostly stayed there since.

And it's not just Altherr's presence that makes the bottom third of the Dinos' lineup dangerous. Kwon Hui-dong, an outfielder with power, will bat seventh. He batted 6-for-12 with two home runs against Doosan's Game 1 starter, Raul Alcantara. And first baseman Kang Jin-sung, who batted .309 with a career-high 70 RBIs, will bat ninth.

"I moved Hui-dong from No. 2 to No. 7 to strengthen the bottom part of our lineup," Lee said in his pregame media session at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. "And the guys at the top of our lineup hit well with runners on."

The Dinos earned a bye to the Korean Series after posting the best regular season record. They haven't played since their final regular season game on Oct. 31, and some of their rust may come into play early.

"I think it's important for our hitters to get their timing right in their first at-bats," Lee said. "That was my point of emphasis with them."

The Bears' manager Kim Tae-hyoung also juggled his lineup for Game 1, but for different reasons. They batted just .213/.259/.299 as a team in a four-game victory over the KT Wiz in the previous round, and Kim moved players around in hopes of generating some spark.

Oh Jae-il, the 2019 Korean Series MVP, will bat sixth. He was moved down from third to eighth during that KT Wiz series and ended up batting only 1-for-15 with six strikeouts then.

The Bears had previously sent five left-handed batters in a row at the top, but Kim decided to spread them out a bit against the Dinos' left-handed relief pitching.

Right-handed Park Kun-woo will lead off, and the left-handed Jung Soo-bin will move down to No. 9 spot.

"Soo-bin isn't swinging the bat well. Kun-woo isn't doing that much better, but at least he can still give us a couple of hits," Kim said in his pregame media availability. "The batting order really isn't that important for us now. I just hope everyone will start hitting."

As for his pitching staff, Kim said right-hander Choi Won-joon, his Game 3 starter, could come out of the bullpen Tuesday if necessary. He also praised the work of his no-name, youthful bullpen and said a reliever could get the starting assignment for Game 4.


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