"The 43-year-old King of the End" is already at a crossroads... "Is it a revival of the end of the cliff or retirement from active duty?"
"The 43-year-old King of the End" is already at a crossroads... "Is it a revival of the end of the cliff or retirement from active duty?"
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His straightforward pitching, which seemed to last forever, has also started to lose its power. Will the "King of the End" who locked the back door even on the world's best stage be at the crossroads of retirement.스포츠토토
The last 2024 season was the worst for Oh Seung-hwan (43, Samsung Lions).
He was good in the beginning. He became the first player in the league to make 20 saves. He had one win, four losses and 24 saves through June, with an ERA of 2.48. His performance eclipsed Samsung's concern over age and physical stamina before renewing contract with Oh.
However, since July when the weather gets warmer, Oh started to lose his form. He went downhill with one win and two losses and two saves and an earned run average of 12.15 in nine games in July, and one win and two losses and one save and 10.50 in seven games in August.
In the end, Oh gave up his finishing position to Kim Jae-yoon and moved down to the second division to have time for reorganization, but was shaken by his 7.00 ERA with two losses and two holds and two blon saves in 10 games (nine innings) even after his return to the first division. He refined his pitches to the second division with the goal of joining the postseason, but was not included in the playoff and the Korean Series entry in the end. His final ERA during the regular season was 4.91 with three wins, nine losses and 27 saves in 58 games.
It wasn't the end of his ordeal. He was mentioned among fans as a strong candidate for Choi Won-tae, the FA's compensation player that Samsung recruited last month. In the face of speculation without substance, the Samsung club made an unusual announcement that it would include Oh in the 20-man protected list.
Since wearing Samsung's uniform in the 2005 rookie draft, Oh Seung-hwan has accumulated so many records that it is difficult to list each one, including Rookie of the Year, six relief king titles (the most ever), the most saves (47 saves) in a single KBO season, the first 400 saves in the league, and the oldest saves (42 years and 12 days).
In the KBO league alone, he recorded 44 wins, 33 losses, 427 saves and 19 holds with an ERA of 2.25 in 726 games. When he was with the Hanshin Tigers in 2014, he garnered four saves in six games of the Climax Series to win the MVP award, and in the U.S. Major League, he posted an ERA of 3.31 with 16 wins, 13 losses, 42 saves and 45 holds in 232 games from 2016 to 2019.
However, he could not avoid the passage of time. Oh's contract with the Samsung Lions is the last one to end this year. If he is not a stranger to retirement, and Oh is a legend, he could have a big farewell ceremony such as a "retirement tour." Unlike Lee Dae-ho and Choo Shin-soo, who announced their retirement before the retirement season, however, they do not seem to open the possibility of their retirement until at least the end of this season.