*This content was translated by AI.
Jang Si-hwan (39, LG Twins), who had been contemplating retirement until just a few months ago, has settled down.
Jang Si-hwan said in an interview with reporters ahead of the "2026 LG Twins New Year's greeting" held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 6th, "I thought about quitting while playing last season. It was 50-50," he said in a frank manner.
LG recruited Jang Si-hwan, who was released from Hanwha Eagles after the end of last season. Jang Si-hwan, who once played as Hanwha's central bullpen, did not play in the first team in a single game last year due to the trend of generational change.
Jang Si-hwan said, "In the past two years, Hanwha's stance has changed, and many games have been played mainly by young players in the Futures League." There were times when I was sick, but when I was okay, the number of times decreased, so I sometimes threw from the residual group," he recalled. "I wondered if I should stop here, but my wife said it was too bad to retire like this." Wouldn't it be better to throw the last ball in the first team and retire. After hearing that, I tried to stop thinking about retirement and take good care of my body, but LG contacted me first," he said.
I couldn't play many games because of my injury for two years. He played only 17 innings in 18 games and had a 2.64 ERA. LG, which had difficulty in the bullpen in the process of winning last year, expected the possibility of a rebound of Jang Si-hwan, who has extensive experience as a starter and bullpen, and even recruited him.
Jang Si-hwan said, "I was injured shortly after the opening last year. He returned around the time of the All-Star Game in July after rehabilitation, and he came out up to 145 kilometers per hour, he said. "Last year, even though my body was not perfect, it was 145 kilometers, so if I prepare well in the first team, I think I can go 150 kilometers." For complex reasons, it sometimes comes out about 3km more in the first group than in the second group," he said.
If it was his wife who reversed her decision to retire, it was Hwang Jae-gyun (39), a recently retired friend, who renewed his mindset to extend his career. Hwang Jae-gyun and Jang Si-hwan (Jang Hyo-hoon at the time of the nomination) are the same age friends born in 1987, who joined the Hyundai Unicorns as 24th in the second round of the KBO Rookie Draft in 2006 and 2nd in the second round of the second round of the Rookie Draft in 2007.
Last month, Hwang Jae-gyun and Jung Hoon (2006 Hyundai Yook Sung-ki) announced their retirement, and now only one Jang Si-hwan from Hyundai is left. Chang Si-hwan said, "It's really burdensome. It's because of (Hwang) Jae-gyun," smiling, "I met Jae-gyun at the Okinawa camp three years ago, and there were only a few people left from Hyundai."
"At that time, Jae-gyun said, 'I'll be the last legacy,' saying, 'I'll be the last legacy,'" he continued. "I'm released and Jae-gyun is the FA, but since the probability of renewing the contract is higher, I thought Jae-gyun would do it, but he suddenly retired. After that, I signed with LG and I became the last legacy," he said with a smile.
As he inherited the title of "The Last Legacy," he also had a sense of mission and responsibility. Jang Si-hwan said, "There are many people from Hyundai at LG's front desk, but whenever they see me, they say 'the last legacy'. So I think I need to hear this sound for another two to three years. "As soon as it becomes the last legacy, it shouldn't disappear," he said.
As a journeyman representing the KBO league, he has never even entered the Korean Series, let alone won a championship. For Jang Si-hwan, joining LG, which aims to win its second consecutive Korean Series, was enough motivation in itself. Jang Si-hwan said, "I've never won a championship while playing baseball. The last time for autumn baseball was when Lotte was in 2017. This time in Daejeon, I watched autumn baseball at home. I thought I might have been there if I had been a few years younger, but that's also my blessing."
At the same time, he said, "LG is a team with such good defense that there are expectations for him. First of all, I just don't want to hit a home run because I like the center fielder (Park Hae-min)," he said with a smile, adding, "I'm only going to do well in baseball for three months. You can't do well for all six months in a season, and the coach is a good strategist, so he asks you to use it when you do well. I think it's also helpful for the team to use it when it's good and not use it when it's bad," he said with a smile.
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*This content was translated by AI.
