“I was surprised at night.”

The final exhibition game between the Samsung Lions and Hanwha Eagles, scheduled for 1 p.m. on the 18th at the Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park, was canceled due to heavy snow. Snow that accumulated from the previous night had piled up on the ground, and the cold weather, with a perceived temperature dropping below freezing, led the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to announce the cancellation of the game early. Cancellations occurred not only in Daejeon but also in the Doosan-KT match in Suwon, the SSG-KIA match in Gwangju, and the NC-LG match in Jamsil, marking a total of four stadiums that faced cancellations. This is the first cancellation of an exhibition game due to snow in seven years since the KT-SK match on March 21, 2018, and it has occurred only 15 times since 2001.

Both managers of the teams, who had several aspects to check in the final exhibition game, could not hide their disappointment. Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon said, “I knew the weather would be cold, but I didn’t expect it to snow. It’s disappointing that the starting pitcher couldn’t fulfill the pitch count heading into the opening.” The scheduled starting pitcher for Hanwha was Ryu Hyun-jin, who was planning to throw 70 pitches. Following him, Moon Dong-joo was also set to pitch, but that was canceled. Both pitchers decided to substitute their sessions with indoor bullpen pitching.

Samsung shares the same disappointment. Samsung manager Park Jin-man said, “I tried to utilize many pitchers who hadn’t pitched much in the bullpen,” expressing regret and adding, “I didn’t expect it to snow in March. I was surprised to see the snow falling at night.”

With the cancellation of the final exhibition game, Samsung plans to actively utilize the Futures League games. The Samsung Futures team will have a two-game series against Sangmu in Mungyeong on the 19th and 20th. Manager Park Jin-man noted, “I think we’ll have to utilize the pitchers who couldn’t pitch today in the Futures. The same goes for the fielders,” mentioning that “about 4 to 5 bullpen pitchers will go, and around 6 to 7 fielders, including Kim Young-woong and Lee Chang-yong, who have lost their game sense, will also go. It seems more than 10 players will need to play in the Futures starting tomorrow.”

With the cancellation of the final exhibition game, Samsung plans to actively utilize the Futures League games. The Samsung Futures team will have a two-game series against Sangmu in Mungyeong on the 19th and 20th.

Manager Park Jin-man stated, “I think we’ll have to utilize the pitchers who couldn’t pitch today in the Futures. The same goes for the fielders,” adding, “about 4 to 5 bullpen pitchers will go, and around 6 to 7 fielders, including Kim Young-woong and Lee Chang-yong, who have lost their game sense, will also go. It seems more than 10 players will need to play in the Futures starting tomorrow.”

The player attracting the most attention is power-hitting third baseman Kim Young-woong. After suffering a right rib contusion during the spring camp in Okinawa, Japan, Kim returned to Korea on the 22nd of last month for treatment and rehabilitation. He rejoined the first team for the match against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 17th. He came in as a pinch hitter in the fourth inning and struck out looking against Ryan Weathers.

Manager Park stated, “His physical condition is fine, but he has lost his game sense, so I want him to play in the Futures games. We’ll have to assess his condition at the end, but I believe he can prepare for the opening day without any issues.”

The outline of the 28-man opening roster is nearly finalized. Before entering the interview room, Manager Park had discussions about the pitching staff and the roster, saying, “We’ve completed the pitching arrangements, and we will have a bit more meetings about the fielders after training. It’s about 90% settled.”

Only pitcher Bae Chan-seung will enter the opening roster among the rookies. The three ‘rookie fielders’—Shim Jae-hoon, Ham Soo-ho, and Cha Seung-jun—who consistently received opportunities from spring camp through the exhibition games will start in the second team. Manager Park expressed hope, stating, “I aim to develop players who should help the team in the long term while playing as starters, rather than keeping them in the first team. I have confirmed that they have the abilities to play in the first team.”

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