Ahn Ji-man said he needs to be alert due to strong disciplinary action, but he should be able to play baseball again

*This content was translated by AI.

Former professional baseball player Ahn Ji-man (43) recently made remarks on four players from the Lotte Giants (Ko Seung-min, Kim Dong-hyuk, Kim Se-min, and Na Seung-yeop), who caused a stir by entering the gambling center during Taiwan's spring camp. Ahn Ji-man called for raising awareness through strong disciplinary action, but voiced caution about how to end his career.

Ahn Ji-man was asked about the recent incident of Lotte players entering the Taiwanese gambling center while communicating with viewers through his YouTube channel "An Ji-man TV" live broadcast on the 23rd.

First, Ahn Ji-man spoke out by referring to the so-called "Yoon An Im-oh (Yoon Sung-hwan, Ahn Ji-man, Lim Chang-yong, Oh Seung-hwan)," which caused a big stir during his time with the Samsung Lions in the past. Ahn Ji-man laughed, "I think I've been to Taiwan where Lotte players went before," and added, "As an experienced person, it's actually really fun when four people gather together. He joked bitterly, "It's fun to drink, and it's fun to play billiards."

At the same time, he continued his remarks. On the level of disciplinary action, Ahn Ji-man said, "Actually, a year is really big for baseball players. Those things prevented me from playing baseball again. However, rather than taking four to five years off or preventing baseball from happening at all, we need a level of disciplinary action that can strongly alert us to never happen again, he said. In other words, severe disciplinary action at the club or KBO level is inevitable, but the "path" itself to return as a player must be opened.

Ahn Ji-man, citing the case of drunk driving as an example, reiterated, "Just as the awareness of drunk driving in the professional baseball community has increased, gambling cases should also be given strong disciplinary measures to prevent them from coming out again, but baseball should be allowed to do so." However, he added, "But I don't know if (players) will be able to return because the public sentiment of baseball fans has been so bad recently."

The beginning of the incident began on the 12th when four players from Lotte visited a gambling arcade near Tainan's accommodation. The video spread through SNS and others, and the Lotte club also immediately returned the players home after confirming the facts. KBO also held a reward and punishment committee in the KBO conference room on the 23rd. As a result of the reward and punishment committee for four Lotte players, Ko Seung-min, Kim Se-min, and Na Seung-yeop, Kim Dong-hyuk, who was confirmed to have visited the site three times since last year, was suspended for 50 games. Three people, Ko Seung-min, Na Seung-yup and Kim Se-min, who were confirmed to visit in the first inning, were suspended for 30 games each," he said.

Lotte also said, "The club will immediately implement the results of the reward and punishment committee and conduct internal discussions based on the contents." We will do our best to prepare for the rest of the camp so that we can restore trust with the fans," he stressed. In fact, it signaled further disciplinary action.

On the other hand, Ahn Ji-man directly released a related notice on the screen, saying, "I was disposed of 'no right to indict' by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office regarding the alleged habitual gambling." "It's a pity that it's still remembered only as a gambling image 10 years after the incident," he said, expressing his willingness to show a new side as a former baseball player and broadcaster.

Ahn Ji-man joined the Samsung Lions in 2002 and played for 14 seasons until 2016. In 593 professional games, he pitched 844 innings, recording 60 wins, 35 losses, 15 saves, 177 holds, 3.59 ERA, 773 strikeouts, and WHIP (average on-base allowed per inning) 1.27. The total 177 holds is the most cumulative hold in the history of the KBO League.

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*This content was translated by AI.