Lotte Giants manager Larry Sutton has voluntarily resigned due to health issues.
Lotte said on the 28th, “Coach Sutton resigned on the 27th for health reasons after the KT Wiz game, and after careful consideration, we decided to respect and accept his wishes.” “We will continue the rest of the season under the acting managerial system of Head Coach Lee Jong-woon from the 29th against the 온라인카지노 Daejeon Hanwha Eagles,” the team said.
Sutton has reportedly been dealing with health issues recently. There was no shortage of performance stress. Lotte made a big splash early in the season, contending for the top spot, but a steep decline that began in June has left them in seventh place with 50 wins and 58 losses.
Sutton was sidelined twice in August due to health issues. On the 17th, he went to a hospital in the morning before the SSG Landers game, but after completing a pre-game interview with the media, he experienced a recurrence of dizziness and was sent home by the training staff. Ten days later, on the 27th, he stopped by Sajik Stadium before the Sajik KT game and immediately rested without fulfilling his official schedule.
There were talks inside and outside the club that Sutton’s health problems were too much for him to lead the team to the end of the season. Regardless of the blame for the poor performance, the team cannot afford to have their head coach out so often.
In the end, Sutton did not fulfill his contract and was relieved of his duties. Initially in charge of the Lotte Futures (second team), he suddenly took over the first team in May 2021 following the dismissal of former coach Heo Moon-ho, and after posting a winning percentage of 5 percent (53 wins, 8 draws, and 53 losses), he signed a contract extension through this season, which is longer than the 2022 season, when his original contract ends. However, he was unable to shake off the disappointment of finishing eighth last year (64 wins, 4 draws, 76 losses) and left the team earlier than his contract.
Lotte will now have to rekindle the flame for fall baseball under acting manager Lee Jong-woon. Lee took over as Lotte’s manager in October 2014, replacing former manager Kim Si-jin, who stepped down after one season in 2015. With Lotte currently trailing the fifth-place KIA Tigers (52 wins, 2 losses, 50 draws) by five games and the sixth-place Doosan Bears (54 wins, 1 loss, 53 draws) by 4.5 games, it will be interesting to see if the acting manager can fulfill the dream of reaching the postseason, which has come up short for five straight years.