Lotte Giants acting manager Lee Jong-woon (57) looked back on the final moments of the final home game a day ago.
The person who made Lee's heart cry is Ahn Kwon-soo (30), who is leaving the KBO League at the end of this season. As a Korean living in Japan, he entered the KBO League after many twists and turns, and wore a Lotte uniform this year. He must fulfill his military service obligation in order to continue his career as a player in Korea. However, it is a difficult choice as he grew up in Japan, is quite old, and is already married and has children.
On the 11th, he said goodbye to the home fans at the Busan Doosan Bears game. After the game, the Busan fans chanted “Ahn Kwon-soo,” and Ahn Kwon-soo could not hold back his tears as the fans cheered him on. Ahn Kwon-soo's words, "I want to continue playing baseball... because there is only one thing I can do," were the very expression of his longing and earnest desire for baseball.
.Acting manager Lee said, "Ahn Kwon-soo had a great influence on other players. He was a player who gave energy as a team atmosphere maker," and added, "It is regrettable that he would have given better energy if there had not been a gap during the season due to arm surgery." He then said, "He is a player who really wants to play baseball, but even if he wants to, he is unable to do so," and did not hide his regret, saying, "Seeing Kwon Soo cry, not only the players, but I was touched as well."
“There are people (like Kwon Soo) who can’t do it even if they want to, and there are people who don’t know how precious it is even if they do. Kwon Soo really wants to play baseball more…” said Lee, “I wish players could feel how precious it is to play and run on the baseball field.” “I hope so,” he said.
When Lee was active, Lotte was far from the best in the league, but it was by no means an easy opponent. They colored the field with their hard-working baseball skills, and were immediately loved by fans in Busan, their hometown. In the early and mid-1990s, Lee also formed one of the Nam Duo-seongs along with Jeon Jun-ho, Kim Eung-guk, Park Jung-tae, and Kim Min-ho, thanks to his quick feet, excellent baseball sense, and tenacious play.
However, this 'Mr. Recently, grandiose modifiers such as 'process', 'retooling', and 'reform' have been brought to the fore, but nothing has been accomplished so far.
The tears that Kwon-soo Ahn showed may be in line with the original intention that Lotte has lost in recent years. Acting Manager Lee emphasized, “That’s what our team must do,” adding, “Rather than saying, ‘It doesn’t have to be me,’ we must always have a nervous mindset, and other players must also try to surpass the starting position.”