“The pre-season evaluation really hurt the players.”
The NC Dinos’ June comeback became a reality. The best performing team in the League as of late has been NC. They swept a three-game series against the LG Twins in early June and followed it up with a sweep of the SSG Landers last weekend. They’re a whopping 8-1 in nine games since the start of June. With that streak of good performances against top teams, NC’s team win percentage has skyrocketed.
With a 31-24 record and a 0.564 winning percentage as of the 11th, NC has moved into third place, pushing the Lotte Giants 안전놀이터, who lost on the same day, into fourth. NC now joins the ranks of the top teams threatening SSG. The difference between second-place LG and third-place NC is only two games.
In just one month, the team has jumped three spots. On May 3, NC had fallen to sixth place. However, they gradually moved up to fifth and fourth place, and then took advantage of Lotte’s slump to climb to third place.
With Eric Peddy anchoring the starting lineup and Lee Jae-hak back in “ace mode,” the team has a stable mound operation. This, coupled with the team’s batting and solid defense, has allowed them to play hard-fought baseball every game.
When asked about the secret to their recent success, NC manager Kang Myung-ho said, “The starting pitchers are pitching so steadily, and the batters are working so hard. Somehow, in every game, there are players who continue to play well. I think that’s why we’re doing so well,” he smiled. It’s a rotation of ‘heroes’. There’s a lot of energy in the NC right now, with everyone working toward the same goal.
However, NC players and field staff agree that “there is a lot of pride in being underestimated before the season.” NC was unable to prevent the transfer of Yang Ji, No Jin-hyuk, and Won Jong-hyun last winter after Na Sung-beom the year before. Yang Ji in particular was a key part of the offense. Even with the addition of Park Se-hyuk and other good foreign players, the difference in the pre-season power analysis was obvious right away, which is why many baseball people predicted NC to be in the bottom half of the league this season.
However, the players gritted their teeth and played harder. “Before the season, the team was criticized for being weak, but now all the players are pulling together and performing well,” said Lee Jae-hak. With players in their 20s leading the way, there is a natural generational effect. There aren’t many guaranteed starting spots. There’s a lot of goodwill competition at every other position, and it’s scary how focused players are on earning a spot on the first team.
There’s a lot more to baseball than objective metrics. Just as the pre-season favorite doesn’t always win the championship, the underdog doesn’t always finish last. This year’s NC certainly got off to a weak start, but they’re turning it around. There’s a scary power beyond ratings.