Ended 3-game winning streak when winning KS in 2020
6 straight wins over Doosan, SSG, and KT in PS this year ‘Haetae Dynasty’ won 9 straight in 1987, 88
Park Gun-woo, Shin Min-hyuk, Kim Joo-won ‘playing like crazy’ NC Tanner-KT Ko Young-pyo starting today
When NC, the ninth team in the Korean Baseball Organization, joined the first team league for the first time in 2013, they chose the slogan ‘Let’s go boldly’. The slogan was meant to show the passion of a new team, and it has since become a symbol of NC.
NC’s catchphrase this season is “We’re Game Changers”. The organization explains that the phrase “captures the idea of a tight-knit ‘one team’ that can change the course of a game as a unit.” In the postseason (PS), they’ve shortened it to “Game Changers” (pictured).
This fall, NC is living up to its catchphrase and changing the game. After finishing fourth in the regular season, the team is undefeated in six games in the PS, including the first round of the wild-card deciding series against Doosan, three semifinal games against SSG, and games one and two of the playoffs. This surpassed their team-high five-game winning streak in the regular season.
NC has won nine straight PS games, including Games 4-6 of the 2020 Korean Series (KS) against Doosan. It is tied for the longest winning streak in PS history with Haetae (now KIA), which won nine straight games over two seasons in 1987 and 1988. NC will aim for the PS record for the longest winning streak and a ticket to KS in Game 3 of the PO at Changwon NC Park on April 2. If NC wins this game, they will advance to the KS, where LG awaits with a 7-0 record in PS this year.
As the baseball adage goes, “In big games, crazy players must come out,” and NC has had crazy players come out and change the game every game. In the offense, the bat of center fielder Park Gun-woo stands out. After batting just .206 in 55 games in the PS from 2015-2021 while playing for Doosan, Park has been hitting nutritious hits in every game in the PS this year. In Game 2 of the PO, Park went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, including a two-run home run in the first inning to put the game out of reach. After going 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs in Game 1, Park is now 5-for-5 with four RBIs in the PO.
On the mound, Shin Min-hyuk has been the star of the show. After going 5-5 with a 3.98 ERA in the regular season, Shin started Game 2 of the PO and pitched six and one-third scoreless innings to earn the win. Shin also pitched five and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief in the first game of the semifinals against SSG last month.
On defense, shortstop Kim Joo-won’s presence shines. The Hangzhou Asian Games gold medalist saved his team with a “super catch” in the bottom of the ninth inning with the score 3-2 in the second game of the POs. Oh Yun-seok’s hard-hit line drive was caught with a dynamic leaping catch. NC catcher Kim Hyung-jun said, “I thought it was a hit, but Kim Joo-won was crazy to make the catch.”
NC announced left-handed pitcher Tanner as the starter for Game 3. KT’s starting pitcher is Ko Young-pyo. It will be interesting to see if Tanner, who struggled in his previous two PS appearances (10 runs in 9 innings), can close out the series, or if Ko can protect the pride of KT, which finished second in the regular season. 19가이드03