In the 42-year history of the KBO, only one person has done it: Kim Eung-ryong,스포츠토토 former manager of the Hattae Tigers, Samsung Lions, and Hanwha Eagles. As for a Korean Series-winning manager, well, maybe not.
The Lotte Giants signed manager Kim Tae-hyung, 56, to a three-year, 2.4 billion won contract on Tuesday. This is a so-called “championship hired gun” manager. Lotte initially emphasized experience as a criterion for hiring a new manager. They were looking for a coach who could lead the team to a championship without trial and error. They decided that Kim Tae-hyung was the right man for the job.
Kim Tae-hyung with the Doosan Bears./My Daily
Kim Tae-hyung./My Daily
It’s interesting to note that of all the managers who have won the Korean Series, only one has actually won it with two teams. First of all, there are 18 managers who have won the Korean Series. Only Kim Eung-ryong won the Korean Series with both Haetae and Samsung. None of the other managers have actually won a championship.
Winning managers in the history of the Korean Series / Later (former) teams
Kim Young-duk 1982 OB/Samsung, Binggrae, LG 2nd team
Kim Eung-ryong 1983, 1986~1989, 1991, 1993, 1996~1997 Haetae/2002 Samsung/Hanwha
Kang Byeong-chul 1984, 1992 Lotte/Hanwha, SK, Lotte, Heroes 2 teams
Baek Incheon 1990 LG/Samsung, Lotte
Lee Kwang-hwan 1994 LG/OB (before LG), Hanwha, LG, Heroes
Kim In-sung 1995 OB, 2001 Doosan/Hanwha
Kim Jae-bak 1998, 2000, 2003~2004 Hyundai/LG
Lee Hee-soo 1999 Hanwha
Sun Dong-yeol 2005~2006 Samsung/KIA
Kim Sung-geun 2007, 2008, 2010 SK/OB, Pacific, Samsung, Ssangbangul, LG (before SK), Goyang Wonders, Hanwha, Choi Gang Baseball Monsters
Cho Bum-hyun 2009 KIA/KT
Ryu Jung-il 2011-2014 Samsung/LG
Kim Tae-hyung 2015-2016, 2019 Doosan/Lotte
Kim Ki-tae 2017 KIA/KT 2nd team
Trey Hillman 2018 SK
Lee Dong-wook 2020 NC
Lee Kang-chul 2021 KT
Kim Won-hyung 2022 SSG
Kim Young-duk, who passed away this year, managed the Samsung Lions and Binggrae Eagles after winning the original Korean Series, but was unable to lead them to a Korean Series title. However, he did win a championship with Samsung in 1985. However, the Korean Series was not held that year as Samsung won the overall title.
Kim Eung-ryong was the first case of a manager actually moving to a championship organization. After winning nine Korean Series titles with Haetae, he moved to Samsung in 2001 and solved Samsung’s championship woes two years later in 2002. Samsung was repeatedly stymied in the postseason by Hae-tae under Kim in the 1990s, but eventually got their act together by hiring Kim.
Since then, however, no one has been able to prove that they are a championship coach. Kang Byung-chul wore the Hanwha and SK jerseys with no success, and later returned to Lotte, but it wasn’t a happy ending. Baek Incheon went to Samsung and Lee Kwang-hwan went to Hanwha to become the first manager of the Heroes, but he also failed to win a championship. Kim In-sung also failed to win a championship at Hanwha. The same was true for Kim Jae-bak at LG, Sun Dong-yeol at KIA, Kim Sung-geun at Hanwha, Cho Bum-hyun at KT, and Ryu Joong-il at LG.
It’s true that a Korean Series title is the most coveted specification in the managerial market. With the exception of Lee Hee-soo and Hillman, all of the managers who have won the Korean Series have gone on to manage other organizations. Lee Kang-chul and Kim Won-hyung are still in charge of their respective teams, while Kim Ki-tae has moved to KT and is a second-team manager. Lee Dong-wook has yet to be given the opportunity to manage another club.
Lotte-Dusan in action during the ‘2022 KBO Baseball Game’ at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on July 26, 2022. Choi Won-jun Kim Tae-hyung/My Daily
Kim Tae-hyung/My Daily
Will Kim Tae-hyung be the unproven coach who has heard countless calls to win the Korean Series, or will he become the first true champion to win the Korean Series with two teams since Kim Eung-ryong in 2002? The conditions could not be better than during his time with the Doosan Bears. These are the three years that will reveal Kim’s true capabilities as a coach.