"Professional comeback after 10 years." Park Myung-hwan's confession, "Living as an outsider, the scene was the most exciting."

*This content was translated by AI.

Park Myung-hwan (49), a "fastball right-hander" who dominated an era in the KBO League, returned to the scene in a professional uniform for the first time in 10 years. He returned to the professional stage as the first pitching coach of "Ulsan Wales" after a brilliant ace pitcher's life and a decade of wild life after retirement.

Pitcher coach Park Myung-hwan took his first step back to the professional league with bullpen coach Jung Jae-bok (45) at the Ulsan Munsu Baseball Stadium on the 13th and 14th, looking at all the pitcher applicants. Although Ulsan City's final approval was still left, he started his work with all the pitchers he applied for.

For coach Park Myung-hwan, it is his first return to the field in 10 years. It has been about 10 years since he retired from the NC Dinos in 2015 and played one season as NC's second-tier pitching assistant coach in 2016.

Coach Park Myung-hwan was the first to mention his gratitude in an interview with reporters. "Honestly, I think I've lived my life like this for 10 years as an outsider out of the mainstream," he said. I would like to thank everyone, including Ulsan Mayor Kim Doo-gyeom (68) and Jang Won-jin (57), who gave me this opportunity," he bowed his head.

In fact, Park Myung-hwan was a good starting pitcher who won more than 100 games in the KBO League when he was active. Park Myung-hwan, who started his professional career with the OB Bears in the 1996 season, left a not bad record with 103 wins, 93 losses, 8 holds, 9 saves and an ERA of 3.81 in 326 games until the 2015 season. In particular, he has struck out 1,421 strikeouts, ranking 10th with the most strikeouts in his career. Among the active pitchers, only KIA Tigers Yang Hyun-jong (38, 2185 strikeouts), SSG Landers Kim Kwang-hyun (38, 2020 strikeouts), and Hanwha Eagles Ryu Hyun-jin (39, 1495 strikeouts) have struck out more in the KBO league than Park Myung-hwan.

Coach Park Myung-hwan has disappeared in the professional baseball world since 2016. He also worked as a YouTuber, served as an independent baseball team and a high school pitching coach, but he missed the professional baseball stage where he had been active for nearly 20 years. "In the end, as a former baseball player, the best thing I could do and be happy about was coaching pitchers," he said. "I'm excited and happy when I come to the ballpark like this because I was a former baseball player," he laughed.

Behind confidence is a proven skill. Coach Park Myung-hwan also watched the growth process by guiding prospects such as Samsung Lions left-hander Bae Chan-seung (20) and SSG Landers right-hander Kim Min-joon (20, 2026 rookie) when he was pitching coach at Daegu High School in 2024.

Coach Park said, "There were definitely some success stories while coaching in the amateur league. There must be a lot of pitchers who have had a hard time, but I want to be a real strength," he said, adding, "I can touch the players better than anyone else, mentally and technically."

Coach Park Myung-hwan, who took charge of Ulsan Wales' pitching staff, has a clear goal. It is 'Baseball that wins the Futures League' that manager Jang Won-jin wants to play. Coach Park Myung-hwan said, "As the manager says, baseball is a pitcher's play after all. Of course, I will support the manager well not only with me but also with bullpen coach Chung Jae-bok next to me," he stressed.

Park Myung-hwan is back near the professional stage mound after a 10-year hiatus. As he said, "The scene is the most exciting," baseball is paying attention to the second act of his leadership life in Ulsan.

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*This content was translated by AI.