Doosan Jang Won-jun becomes the 9th person in KBO League history
Wonjun Jang (Doosan Bears) became the 9th player in KBO League history to reach 2,000 innings in his career.
Wonjun Jang started the final game of the regular season against SSG Landers in the 2023 professional baseball season held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 17th and pitched 4⅓ innings (7 hits, 5 runs).
Jang Won-jun, who had pitched 1,995⅔ innings before this day, completed exactly 2,000 innings and handed over the mound to Park Shin-ji.
Individuals who pitched more than 2,000 innings in the KBO League include Song Jin-woo (3,03 innings), Jeong Min-cheol (2,394⅔ innings), Yang Hyun-jong (2,325⅔ innings), Lee Kang-cheol (2,204⅔ innings), and Kim Won-hyung (2,171 innings). innings), Bae Young-soo (2,167⅔ innings), Han Yong-deok (2,079⅓ innings), and Kim Gwang-hyeon (2,009⅓ innings, as of the 16th), Jang Won-jun is the 9th
Coincidentally, three active pitchers who have completed 2,000 innings, Hyeon-jong Yang (KIA Tigers), Gwang-hyeon Kim (SSG), and Won-jun Jang, all started on this day.
Jang Won-jun began his professional career by being drafted in the first round by the Lotte Giants in 2004, and made his first-team debut as a relief pitcher against the Daegu Citizen Samsung Lions on April 4 of that year.
Jang Won-jun, who pitched 1,326 innings in 258 games for Lotte, signed a four-year contract with Doosan for 8.4 billion won in 2015 and has played 674 innings (188 games) in the Black Bear uniform until today.
Jang Won-jun played an active role as Doosan's starting pitcher for three seasons from 2015 to 2017. During this period, Jang Won-jun appeared in 86 games and posted 41 wins, 27 losses, and an average ERA of 3.51. During this period, his number of wins ranked 5th and his earned run average ranked 3rd. In his postseason, he was referred to as a 'big game feature' with 4 wins and a 2.44 earned run average.
Doosan won the Korean Series in 2015 and 2016 thanks to Jang Won-jun's performance. Even when he finished second in the Korean Series in 2017, Jang Won-jun shined. However, Jang Won-jun has suffered from injuries and poor performance since 2018, and has spent longer in the second team than in the first team.
Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop reached out to Jang Won-jun, who is at the crossroads of retirement after the end of the 2022 season, saying, "We can't let a player with this level of experience retire in vain," and the Doosan club also accepted coach Lee Seung-yeop's opinion.
Wonjun Jang pitched 41 innings this year and earned 3 wins. Jang Won-jun's victory clock, which had been stopped at 129 wins for over four years since 2018, has turned again. Jang Won-jun, who had the opportunity to pitch in the last game of the regular season, also completed 2,000 innings in his personal career. Doosan juniors clapped their hands toward Jang Won-jun, who came into the dugout after finishing his pitch.