“Professional baseball, the biggest change in history…

“We must each prepare for new attempts and challenges to become winners in a changing environment.”

Go Young-seop, the new president of the Doosan Bears, attended the 2024 founding ceremony held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 15th and emphasized that the team should continue its actions as a prestigious club. Coach Lee Seung-yeop, coaches, players, and even the front office all attended the event and wished for a smooth new season.

Doosan ranked 5th last year with coach Lee taking charge for the first time, with a season record of 74 wins, 68 losses, and 2 draws. Although it recovered some of its crumpled pride by falling to 9th place in 2022, it was not enough to satisfy. From 2015 to 2021, more time is still needed to rebuild the dynasty that led the KBO to advance to the Korean Series for seven consecutive years for the first time. Coach Lee and the players are aiming for a 3rd place or higher score this year and want to go even higher.

President Ko expected players to quickly adapt to the changing professional baseball environment in 2024. The KBO decided to introduce ABS (Automatic Pitching Judgment System) starting this year and apply new regulations such as expanding base size and limiting defensive shifts. It was decided to apply the pitch clock to the Futures League from the first half of the year, and to the first team to introduce it from the second half after a pilot operation in the first half of the year. President Koh believes that this season's performance may vary depending on how quickly the team adapts to these changes.

President Ko said, "Last week, I visited CES, the world's largest home appliance IT exhibition held in Las Vegas, USA. As you know, CES is an exhibition hall where cutting-edge technologies for future industries are revealed. More than 4,000 companies from around the world visit and are the first to experience changes in the world. “I also came back feeling a lot from that fierce battlefield of survival,” he said.

He continued, "I immediately thought of changes in professional baseball coming in 2024. The innovation trends of CES 2024 are AI and robotics, which are not far away from us anymore. Strike-ball decisions, which have been considered the sole authority of umpires, will be handled by robot umpires starting this season. “Also, the defensive shift, which has been popular for a while, will be restricted and a pitch clock will be introduced in the second half of the season,” he added.

President Ko also said, “Like this, 2024 is the year when the biggest change in professional baseball history is expected. However, we must not forget that change can be a crisis for some, but an opportunity for others. Our Doosan Bears must be the winners who seize that opportunity. “I do it,” he emphasized.

He said there would be no worries as long as the Bears kept their traditions. President Ko said, "In fact, Doosan is an organization that is accustomed to innovation in the face of change. It was the first to build a second-tier stadium, the first to recruit child members, and the first to attempt a fan observation group at a training camp. Our club is a prestigious club with a long history, but it is also a traditional club. “We did not just succeed, but always changed and took on challenges,” he said.

He continued, "This year is the same. In 2024, when tremendous changes are expected, I will make Doosan a club that breaks away from the existing methods and researches and attempts the most strategic methods. I ask you all to do your best to become a winner in the changing environment. “We need to prepare for attempts and challenges. Through this, it would be good to work together to create Doosan’s own success equation toward winning the championship in 2024,” he said.

Director Seung-yeop Lee also agreed with President Ko’s thoughts. Coach Lee said, "It's been about two months since the players finished their final training. In about 15 days, 2024 will truly begin. What I want to ask you is that I will change first. Everyone, forget everything that happened last year, and the CEO will be there in 2024." "I hope we can adapt to the professional baseball environment that has many changes as you mentioned. Adapting is our first goal. If we adapt quickly, we will be able to achieve more wins," he said emphatically.

Coach Lee said he would remember the disappointment of ending fall baseball after just one game last year. Doosan was eliminated after losing 9-14 in the first game of the wild card decision against NC Dinos held in Changwon on October 19 last year. Doosan, ranked 5th, needed two wins to advance to the semi-playoffs.

Coach Lee said, "I can't really forget the loss to Changwon on October 19th. I will hold the loss deep in my heart. I hope last year's loss serves as a foundation for taking a leap forward in the new year. The players will change a lot, but our coaches will also change. "I don't think we can grow any further without it. I hope that 2024 will be the year when we can repay the players and front office, as well as the fans far away, so that this decision (recruiting coaches and changing positions) will not be in vain."

Yang Seok-hwan, who took over as the new captain in the new year, left a greeting as the representative of the players. Yang Seok-hwan said, "For the team's performance to be good, individual performance must ultimately be supported. I hope that the players will take responsibility and prepare well. I hope that Doosan will be the winner in 2024."

Coaches Park Heung-sik, Jo Woong-cheon, Myeong-yeom Park, Dong-han Kim, Ji-yong Kim, and In-seong Jo, who newly joined the team this year, came out in front of the players and greeted them, and 10 2024 rookies, including pitcher Taek-yeon Kim, also expressed their determination to challenge the professional stage wearing Doosan uniforms, expressing their determination to challenge the professional stage in a changing 2024. It made me look forward to Doosan.

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