At a retirement press conference held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the afternoon of the 20th, Yoo Hee-kwan, who was emotional, wiped away tears. Then the microphone suddenly got mixed up. The beep continued for about a minute.
Yoo Hee-kwan, whose tears stopped during the one-minute hiatus, said, “Tears are coming in right away. It’s a retirement press conference..It has always fought prejudice like this. Mike seems to have a prejudice against me, too,” he said.
Yoo Hee-kwan, a graduate of Jangchung High School and Jangwoong University and wearing a Doosan uniform in 2009 rookie DePatf, announced his intention to retire from active duty to the club on the 18th. Decided to start ‘Second Life’.
Yoo Hee-kwan is a franchise star wearing the Doosan Bears uniform and played one of the pillars of the selection. 스포츠토토
Yoo Hee-kwan, famous for his “slow aesthetics” in the KBO League, showed that he can work on the professional stage even if the ball is not fast.
At the beginning of his career, he did not show much performance. After completing his military service, he recorded double-digit wins for eight consecutive years from the 2013 to 2022 season. He won 100 games as the first left-hander in Doosan’s history.
Yoo Hee-kwan, known for his experienced speech in interviews and media days, has a career record of 101 wins and 69 losses in 281 games (1,410 innings), and a 4.58 ERA. Since 2013, he has settled down as a starter and has won double-digit wins for eight consecutive seasons, and has built a golden tower to reach the 100th win mark for the first time as a left-hander of the Doosan Bears
Yoo Hee-kwan expressed his ambition to surpass Jang Ho-yeon (109 wins), who won the most wins in the Doosan Bears franchise, by achieving 100 wins last year. It seemed like he would continue to extend his active career, but he announced his retirement, saying, “I thought it was time to step down for my juniors.”
At the end of the retirement ceremony, Yoo Hee-kwan cried again. Yoo Hee-kwan said, “I’m a poor player, but I’ve achieved a lot.” I think I got this opportunity because I was loved a lot of love. “I’m getting emotional talking,” he said.
Finally, Yoo Hee-kwan said, “I want to be remembered as a pleasant player on the ground all the time. “I used to love Doosan so much. I’m retiring without playing baseball anymore, but fans love Doosan and professional baseball beyond Doosan, so the players should try and do well to return to their old popularity, but I ask for your attention.”
