NC Park Seok-min (38) retires. He, who won the Korean Series six times with Samsung and NC, and won the Golden Glove twice (third baseman category), said on the 30th, “I can’t show my fans the baseball player Park Seok-min, but I try to become a respected person.” “I will do it,” he said.
Park Seok-min debuted after being selected in the first round by Samsung in the 2004 professional baseball rookie draft. He left a record of 0.287 batting average (1,537 hits, 269 home runs, and 1,041 RBI) in 18 seasons excluding his time as Sangmu. He was loved by fans for frequently showing comical behavior on the field, such as spinning around or falling after missing a swing to the point where his body was twisted while at bat. He qualified as a free agent (FA) after the 2015 season and transferred to NC under the condition of receiving a total of 9.6 billion won for 4 years. After 2019, he qualified as a free agent again and renewed his contract for 3 years and up to 3.4 billion won. So far, he has donated approximately 800 million won to the baseball world and society.굿모닝토토 도메인
In July of the 2021 season, he was suspended for 122 games (72 KBO games + 50 team games) for violating coronavirus quarantine rules, and even after returning in June last year, he went downhill. This season, he signed a one-year contract for 50 million won and attempted to make a comeback, but due to injuries, he only appeared in 30 games in the first team (batting average of 0.193, 1 home run, and 8 RBIs). His retirement ceremony will be decided in future discussions with the club.
Doosan’s left-handed pitcher Jang Won-jun (38) also announced his intention to retire last weekend. He debuted as a first-round pick for Lotte in 2004, and as soon as he transferred to Doosan in 2015, he took the lead in helping the team win the Korean Series. The following year, he played the role of ace and played a leading role in the regular season-Korean Series combined championship. He had no wins for 4 years from 2019 to last year, but added 3 wins this year, becoming the oldest left-hander ever to win 130 games (37 years, 9 months) and the 9th player ever to pitch 2,000 innings. His professional career record is 132 wins and 119 losses (1 save, 14 holds, ERA 4.28). Jang Won-jun said, “I feel relieved that I have achieved the final goals I personally set. It was thanks to ‘Team Bears’ that he was able to leave with applause. “I will never forget the cheers of the fans for the rest of my life,” he said.
Teams that failed to advance to the postseason or finished ‘fall baseball’ early are busy preparing for next year. Lotte, which recently hired former Doosan coach Kim Tae-hyung as its head coach, is finishing up training in Sangdong, Gimhae. Kiwoom has been sweating in Wonju, Gangwon-do since the 22nd, and Samsung has been sweating in Okinawa, Japan, since the 27th. Doosan will set up a finishing camp in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do on the 31st, and Hanwha will set up a finishing camp in Miyazaki, Japan on the 1st of next month. SK will train its players in Kagoshima, Incheon, and Ganghwa, Japan starting from the 1st of next month. Doosan, Samsung, and Hanwha formed a joint team focusing on promising players and participated in an educational league held in Miyazaki from the beginning of this month to the 30th, and played practice games with Japanese teams.