Kim Min-jae, Lotte coach, passed away today (14th) after battling cancer, 'former national team hero' Kim Min-jae was 53 years old

*This content was translated by AI.

Korean baseball is in great sorrow. Lotte Giants Dream Team general coach Kim Min-jae, who played as a "winning member of the Beijing Olympics," died on the 14th after battling bile duct cancer. He was 53.

Kim Min-jae, the current Lotte Giants coach who helped create the myth of winning the 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) semifinals and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, left for heaven on the 14th after battling bile duct cancer. Lotte club said on the same day, "Coach Kim Min-jae died."

Coach Kim Min-jae, born on January 3, 1973, graduated from Busan Jungang Elementary School, Gyeongnam Middle School, and Busan Technical High School and joined Lotte Giants in 1991 as a high school graduate. Coach Kim Min-jae, who played in 15 games in his first year of joining the team, played 83 games in the 1992 season the following year, helping Lotte win its second Korean Series.

Coach Kim Min-jae began to play as a regular starting player in the 1993 season, his third year. Until the 2001 season, he led the infield of the giant corps as Lotte's main shortstop.

Coach Kim Min-jae did his part without any major injuries throughout his career. He was literally a very good player in self-management. Coach Kim Min-jae, who earned his first free agent (FA) qualification ahead of the 2022 season, moved to the SK Wyverns (current SSG Landers).

At SK, he played 131 games (2002 season), 129 games (2003 season), 129 games (2004 season), and 125 games (2005 season), respectively, boasting his iron-fisted appearance. After another FA qualification, he headed to the Hanwha Eagles. After playing 121 games (2006 season), 118 games (2007 season), 114 games (2008 season) and 105 games (2009 season) in Hanwha, he eventually took off his active uniform at the end of the 2009 season.

Coach Kim Min-jae's professional performance in 2113 games was .247 (1,503 hits in 6088 at-bats) with 71 home runs, 244 doubles, 29 triples, 607 RBIs, 696 runs, 174 steals, 473 walks, 97-fit balls, 739 strikeouts, a slugging percentage of 0.331 and an on-base percentage of 0.309.

Coach Kim Min-jae played well while representing the country with the Taegeuk mark. She won the gold medal at the 2002 Busan Asian Games. At the 2006 WBC competition, he stood out as a leading player in advancing to the semifinals, and at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he contributed to the creation of a winning myth based on his solid defense.

Although he left the ground as an active player, he remained on the ground as a leader and breathed with his juniors. He began his leadership career with Hanwha Eagles in 2009 and has built his own expertise in defense and operations through several clubs, including Doosan Bears, KT Wiz, Lotte Giants, and SSG Landers.

Coach Kim Min-jae began his career as a full-fledged leader in 2009 when he was appointed as an operational coach for the Hanwha Eagles. In the 2023 season, he moved to the Doosan Bears and coached the players as a defensive coach. He also played as a defensive coach for KT, a new team, and was appointed as an infield defense coach for the Lotte Giants from November 2016 to October 2018, contributing to strengthening the team's defense.

In November 2018, coach Kim Min-jae returned to Doosan to maximize the team's mobility by serving as an operational coach and a running coach. From November 2020, he moved to Incheon and served as SK's chief defensive coach. Even after the team was reborn as SSG Landers, coach Kim Min-jae continued to serve as the head defensive coach.

In the 2022 season, he assisted manager Kim Won-hyung as the head coach of SSG and contributed greatly to the team's integrated victory (wire to wire). Since winning the championship, he has served as a third base running coach, operation coach, and bench coach at SSG since December 2022, and joined Lotte Giants, where "winning contractor" Kim Tae-hyung was appointed, as a head coach ahead of the 2024 season. Last year, he served as Lotte's bench coach and was in charge of the Dream Team's general coach responsible for fostering prospects before the 2026 season.

Coach Kim Min-jae showed jaundice symptoms during the Guam spring camp in January 2024, and after returning home, he was examined at a hospital, where he was diagnosed with bile duct cancer. After that, he returned to his feet devoted to chemotherapy and received support from many fans. However, recently, the condition has deteriorated rapidly, and he finally left for heaven.

He is survived by his wife and two children. The mortuary was set up in Room 402 of the Busan Citizen Funeral Home. From the morning of the 15th, we will move to special room 201. The stamping date is 6:30 a.m. on the 16th.

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*This content was translated by AI.