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.
On the final day of the regular season, Jang Won-jun started the game against the visiting SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon and pitched 4⅓ innings (seven hits and five runs), becoming the ninth pitcher 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 슬롯게이밍 stop for a while,” he recalls.Jang Won-jun said goodbye to the mound with hot tears.