‘Worst schedule’
Hanwha and Kiwoom will play games 13 and 14 in a row between 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League teams at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 9th. From the time the remaining game schedules were announced, both Hong Won-ki and Choi Won-ho expressed dissatisfaction with the doubleheader. However, he ended up playing two games in the most difficult situation without changing the schedule.
Kiwoom, which uses Gocheok Dome as its home, has no rain cancellation of its home game, so it has relatively less time to rest compared to other teams in the middle of the hot and energetic season. However, the game can be set up with a wide schedule in the second half of the season. Kiwoom has already finished many games this season, and it is possible to take four days off to prepare for the game. For Kiwoom, there is enough room to play one game, but it is hard to understand why they play a double header.
Kiwoom and Hanwha’s schedules are not so mixed that it is difficult to put in one game. Hanwha will take Monday off after the weekend series against Kiwoom, and there will be no game for the next two days against Doosan in Jamsil on the 12th. The same goes for Kiwoom. The three days off in the middle were organized as a preliminary day for Kiwoom and Hanwha, but there is virtually no possibility that the game will be delayed due to rain at Gocheok Dome.
Hanwha is also much better off playing one of its days off than a doubleheader, although it is not as relaxed as Kiwoom. If one of the preliminary days had been played, Jamsil and Gocheok would have been the same away game in Seoul, so there would have been no burden on moving. Hanwha asked KBO to change its schedule, but there was no movement, forcing both Hanwha and Kiwoom to accept the hardship.
To make matters worse, Hanwha and Kiwoom played 12 extra innings on the 8th, the day before the doubleheader, making the operation tighter. On this day, Hanwha and Kiwoom used eight pitchers side by side. Hanwha selected Kim Ki-joong and Nam Ji-min as starters on the 9th, and Kiwoom will start Kim Dong-hyuk and one other bullpen due to the elbow pain of Ariel Furado. However, as the match was prolonged on the 8th, the two coaches became more troubled.
The doubleheader, which starts at 2 p.m. after extra time that ended after 11 p.m., is also a problem, and the next after the doubleheader. The game on Sunday, the 10th, will begin at 2 p.m. It is not easy to play a day game the day after the evening game, but you have to visit the baseball stadium again a few hours after finishing the avoidable doubleheader. It is difficult to guarantee performance due to accumulated fatigue.