"Jamsil Stadium, the final game — it hurts." 70-year-old starting pitcher Park Chul-soon delivers a beautiful farewell to Jamsil [On-site at Jamsil]

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He was neither a ceremonial first-baller nor a coach. Park Chul-soon (70), the "Phoenix" of the OB Bears (predecessor to Doosan), took the pitcher's mound for the first time in 30 years, bidding a beautiful farewell to his beloved Jamsil Stadium.

Park Chul-soon appeared as the starting pitcher for the East team in the "Jamsil The Last Inning by Renault" legend match held on the 14th at Seoul Songpa-gu Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

This game is a special event where professional baseball legends gather to reminisce about Jamsil Baseball Stadium, which will be demolished at the end of this season to make way for the construction of a new stadium.

Legendary figures representing professional baseball all came together, and Park Chul-soon, the pitcher who first comes to mind when thinking of Jamsil Stadium, took the mound as the starting pitcher for the East team.

Park Chul-soon, who recorded 24 wins and a 1.84 ERA in the inaugural professional baseball season of 1982, leading OB to the Korea Series championship and being named Most Valuable Player (MVP), played until his retirement in 1996 with a record of 76 wins, 53 losses, and 20 saves, along with a 2.95 ERA. Despite suffering multiple injuries, he did not give up and made a comeback. In the season just before his retirement, 1995, he achieved 9 wins, helping OB secure their first championship in 13 years.

What does Jamsil Stadium mean to Park Chul-soon? Meeting with reporters before the game, he said, "It hurts. I laughed a lot, cried a lot, and rolled around here with my teammates, but when it comes to the fact that this is the last Jamsil game, it goes beyond just feeling disappointed or regretful; my heart truly aches."

The moment he remembers most also remains as a painful memory. Park Chul-soon said, "My retirement ceremony, where I kissed the mound before leaving, is what stays with me the most," adding, "It is a pity that a place filled with countless memories is disappearing. For me, the Jamsil mound is a place where I fell down and made a comeback countless times, so it holds a very unique and significant meaning."

Although Park Chul-soon is now 70 years old, he still wants to be seen as "MVP Park Chul-soon" in front of fans. "It feels like it has been over 40 years since I took the mound as a player. So I worry that fans might be disappointed," he said. "My arm doesn't go up anymore, and essential running and stretching for a pitcher don't work properly, so my muscles don't stretch out. Even when I try to throw the ball trusting catcher Lee Man-soo, the ball doesn't go where I want it to, and I nearly cried out of frustration. I wanted to show fans a good performance, so I tried to train up until now, but my body didn't cooperate, which was truly heartbreaking," he expressed his regret.

However, for the fans, just seeing him on the mound was moving enough. Park Chul-soon, who took the field as the starting pitcher for the East team, faced Kim Bong-yeon, the leadoff hitter for the West team. It was not the fast ball of his past, but the pitches from 70-year-old pitcher Park Chul-soon still flew accurately into catcher Lee Man-soo's mitt. With a count of 2-2, shortstop Ryu Jung-il fielded the grounder hit by Kim Bong-yeon to record the first out.

As planned, Park Chul-soon faced one batter and then came off the mound. Fans, who had not seen "pitcher Park Chul-soon" rather than a ceremonial first-baller in such a long time, responded with thunderous applause. Park Chul-soon took off his cap and bowed 90 degrees to greet them. Thus, he bid farewell for the last time to Jamsil Baseball Stadium, which had served as his home stadium for most of his baseball career.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original