Jang Won-jun (38, Dusan Bears), who rarely shows his emotions, was unable to hold back the tears in his final outing.
In a call with Yonhap News Agency on the 28th, the day he officially announced his retirement, Jang said, "I cried a lot after my last pitch on the 17th. "I'm embarrassed, but I don't regret shedding those tears," he said.
Doosan announced on the 28th that "Jang Won-jun has decided to retire," but Jang had already told the team and coaching staff after 16 games that he would retire after this season.
Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop gave Jang a chance to reach 2,000 career innings.
On the final day of the regular season, Jang Won-jun started and pitched 4⅓ innings (7 hits and 5 runs) against the visiting SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon, becoming the ninth player in KBO history to reach 2,000 career innings.
"Since 2018, when I started to struggle with injuries and poor performance, my personal goal was to reach 130 wins and 2,000 innings," he said. "No matter how good I was before, it must have been very difficult for the manager and the club to give me a chance after a long period of poor performance. I am very grateful for the opportunity."
When Jang Won-jun reached 2,000 career innings, Lee ordered a pitching change.
Jang Won-jun came off the mound with an emotional look on his face and was greeted by his Doosan teammates in the dugout.
Jang, who was walking to the dugout with a calm expression, was overwhelmed by the sight of his teammates.
"I was holding it together, but my friend Kim Jae-ho, who is the same age as me, hugged me tightly. The 'tear button' was pressed," he said. "I covered my face with a towel because the tears were pouring out. The tears didn't stop for a while," he recalls.
Jang Won-jun said goodbye to the mound with hot tears.
"I wasn't a flashy pitcher," Jang said humbly, but there aren't many pitchers in the KBO who can say the same.
A left-handed pitcher from Busan High School, Jang began his professional career as the first overall pick of the Lotte Giants in the 2004 rookie draft.
After pitching 1,326 innings in 258 games for Lotte, Jang signed a four-year, 8.4 billion won contract with Doosan in 2015, adding 674 more innings (188 games) in a Half Moon Bear uniform. 안전토토사이트
He has a career record of 132-119 in 446 games, with one save and 14 shutouts, and a 4.28 ERA.
Jang finished his career ranked 10th in wins and 9th in innings pitched in the KBO.
He was at his "peak" for three seasons, from 2015 to 2017.
During that time, Jang went 41-27 with a 3.51 ERA in 86 games. He was fifth in wins and third in ERA.
In the postseason, he went 4-0 with a 2.44 ERA and was labeled a "big game pitcher.
Doosan won the 2015 and 2016 Korean Series titles thanks to Jang's performance. Even when they were runners-up in the 2017 Korean Series, Jang shined.
He had eight consecutive years of double-digit wins (2008-2017, 2012-2013) and 10 consecutive seasons of triple-digit strikeouts (2006-2017, 2012-2013).
However, Jang has been plagued by injuries and poor form since 2018, spending more time in the second team than the first.
When he was at the crossroads of retirement after the 2022 season, Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop reached out to him, saying, "We can't let a player with this kind of history retire in vain," and the club agreed.
Jang has pitched 41 innings this year and picked up three wins. After being stuck at 129 wins for more than four years after 2018, Jang's victory clock started ticking again.
With the opportunity to pitch in the final game of the regular season, he also reached 2,000 career innings.
"It's not easy for any manager to take a chance on an 'old pitcher' who has been struggling for a long time. "Even if he said, 'Look for another team,' I didn't have anything to say," Jang said. "But then coach Lee Seung-yeop said, 'Don't end your career like this. Let's give it a shot,' and he gave me a chance. I wanted to repay him somehow," he recalled.
Ironically, after getting the opportunity, Jang decided to 'retire'.
"The final decision was made in October of this year, but already at the start of this season, I decided, 'Let's give everything this year and retire without regrets,'" he said.
Doosan fans also welcomed his return to the first team, saying, "Jang Won-jun plays 'romantic baseball'."
Jang Won-jun said, "I feel more sorry for the fans. "Personally, I don't regret it, but when I think about the team's performance and the fans, I feel sorry for them," he said, adding, "If I had done a better job this year, Doosan would have finished the regular season in a higher position than fifth place and would still be playing in the postseason.
"I wasn't a flashy pitcher, if you ask me," he said. I don't have any achievements to show off since 2018," he said, adding, "I just want to be remembered by the fans as a player who did his best."
However, Doosan fans still remember Jang Won-jun as "the flamboyant left-handed ace who started the Doosan dynasty.
After experiencing both highs and lows on the mound, Jang said, "I threw without regret. I don't have any regrets," he said, summarizing his 20-year professional career by saying, "I was grateful and happy for every moment on the mound in the KBO and international competitions."
He added, "I have no plans to work as a coach now. I gave my all in the dugout of a professional team, so I have no regrets about my professional life. "I'm going to take a break for the time being and spend a lot of time with my family," he said. "I'm going to take it easy and spend a lot of time with my family. I will design my second life slowly."
Jang's wife is Park Tae-yeon, the older sister of Park Gun-woo (NC Dinos).
"I am very grateful to my wife, who has been living in a 'baseball player's family' all her life," Jang said, "I want to do something for her, who has suffered more than me, but I can't think of anything. I try to say thank you as often as possible."
He said simply, "I have no regrets, no regrets. I'm glad I did," but it's not as if his long relationship with baseball can be cut short in one day.
"I caught a cold after my last pitch on the 16th," said Jang Won-jun, who was coughing heavily throughout the call. This cold is not easy to get rid of," he said.
Like a stubborn cold, Jang hasn't "completely parted ways" with baseball yet.
"Right now, I'm really not, but next spring, I might want to throw a ball again," he laughs.