'The Dignity of a First-Place Team Manager' Honoring 900-Game Milestone, Manager Personally Visits Mound to Ask for Substitution [Suwon Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

On the day the team returned to first place, the manager's dignity also shone brightly.

At Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 3rd, where the KT Wiz-Hanwha Eagles game was held, Woo Kyu-min (41, KT) entered in the top of the eighth inning with KT leading 10-7. After allowing a double to Sim Woo-jun with two outs, manager Lee Kang-cheol (60) personally visited the mound. The manager smiled and spoke with Woo Kyu-min, and shortly afterward, closer Park Young-hyun (23) took over on the mound in place of Woo.

On this day, Woo Kyu-min appeared in his 900th career game. This marks the third time in KBO League history, following Jung Woo-ram (1,005 games) and Ryu Taek-hyun (901 games), and is the first time a right-handed pitcher has achieved this milestone.

After the game, Woo Kyu-min met with reporters and said, "I wanted to finish the inning, but winning for the team came first. When the manager came up and asked, 'Do you want to continue?' I noticed his expression seemed to suggest he wanted to make a change... So, seeing that, before things could escalate further, I told him, 'Just switch to (Park) Young-hyun,' and stepped down."

In the KBO League, it is not common for a manager to personally approach the mound when making a pitching substitution. However, this manager showed maximum respect to a veteran with 24 years of professional experience on such a historic day.

Woo Kyu-min expressed his gratitude, saying, "I was truly thankful for that." He added, "Since winning is the team's top priority, I didn't even think about it being my 900th game," acknowledging the manager's consideration.

KT fell behind early, surrendering five runs in the top of the first inning, but ultimately demonstrated their resilience by securing a comeback victory with a final score of 13-11. By defeating Lotte Giants, Samsung Lions were overtaken by half a game, allowing KT to reclaim the first-place position after a week.

After the game, manager Lee Kang-cheol stated through the club, "The players did not give up and maintained their focus to secure the victory." He continued, "Our relief pitchers also held strong, laying the foundation for the comeback. We congratulate Woo Kyu-min on achieving his 900th appearance in KBO League history—the third overall and the first by a right-handed pitcher."

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*This content was translated by AI.