Professional baseball SSG Landers' Kim Kang-min (43) will step onto the field for the last time in front of the fans who have supported him for a long time.
SSG announced on the 21st that "Kim Kang-min will be registered in the special entry ahead of the retirement ceremony taking place in the game against Hanwha Eagles on the 28th."
Kim Kang-min was an SSG franchise star who recorded a career batting average of .273 over 1,960 KBO League games (5,440 at-bats, 1,487 hits), 139 home runs, 681 RBIs, 810 runs scored, and 209 stolen bases with an OPS of .748. He significantly contributed to SSG winning the Korean Series in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2018, and 2022, and in 2022, he was named the Korean Series MVP after hitting two critical home runs.
After the 2023 season, Kim Kang-min, who joined Hanwha through the second draft, recorded a batting average of .224 over 41 games (76 at-bats, 17 hits), 1 home run, 7 RBIs, 5 runs scored, and an OPS of .585, and announced his retirement from active play after the season. The retirement ceremony will be held at SSG, where he played from 2002 to 2023, and will take place during the game against Hanwha, where he played for one year.
Initially, Kim Kang-min planned to only hold the retirement ceremony on the 28th against Hanwha and not register in the special entry. However, to say goodbye to the fans, he changed his plans to register in the special entry and step onto the field. He is expected to briefly play as a center fielder in the first inning before being replaced again and finishing the game.
SSG explained, "Initially, the club and the player had agreed that due to his current physical condition, he would not be registered in the special entry while discussing the retirement ceremony, but during the process of preparing the event details and sharing opinions, they formed a consensus on expressing gratitude to fans on the field through a special entry." It continued, "However, considering that he is not in a condition to actually play, it was agreed that he will start as a center fielder on the day of the retirement ceremony but will be replaced by a regular player at the start of the game."
With the rainy season beginning recently and rainouts occurring frequently, weather is also a concern for fans. SSG stated, "If the game on the 28th is canceled due to rain, the retirement ceremony will be rescheduled in accordance with the future game schedule and will be adjusted to a new date in consultation with the player himself."
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