Outfielder Kim Joon-wan (32), who played for 11 seasons in the KBO League and rose to the main position with his outstanding defense and pioneering eye, eventually announced his retirement.
Kim Jun-wan announced on his SNS on the 2nd, “I am about to wrap up my professional baseball career for the past 11 years.” Earlier, he was notified of his release by Kiwoom Heroes on October 16, shortly after the end of the season.
“Every day was a war because I joined the professional league as a reported player,” Kim said. “I tried to survive, but I’m sad because I think that’s the end of my efforts.” “I have no regrets because I did my best so far,” Kim said. 스포츠토토
“I will never forget my nine years with the NC Dinos, who helped me start my professional career, and two years with the Kiwoom Heroes, who gave me ample opportunities and love,” he said. “Now, I will work hard playing a role of helping others behind me, not as a player.” Finally, he concluded by saying, “I was so grateful and happy to play baseball.”
Kim Jun-wan, a graduate of Jangchung High School and Korea University, joined the NC Dinos in 2013 as a training player. In his first season since debut, he played in only three games in the first division, not getting many opportunities in the beginning. However, in his third year in 2015, he started to increase his presence in the first division by appearing in 30 games.
And 2016 was Kim’s best season. Playing in a personal record of 122 games, Kim had a batting average of 0.261 (66 hits in 253 at-bats) with one homer, 12 RBIs, 60 runs scored, and two stolen bases with an OPS of 0.723. This could be an ordinary figure, but he garnered 66 walks from 325 times at bat and posted an on-base percentage of 0.416. Based on his outstanding pioneering ability, he had many opportunities as the No. 1 hitter in his team.
In the following year, he played 144 times at bat in 104 games, and returned to the team as a backup agent. In the same year, however, he created an all-time great scene in the postseason. He played center field in the first playoff game with the Doosan Bears, and when his team was trailing 2-4, he followed Min Byung-hun’s long-range hit to the end with runners on the first and third bases with two outs and two outs to catch the hit. He had a disadvantageous start as the starting position was rather right, but he displayed stellar defense by displaying concentration. At the time, NC manager Kim Kyung-moon even admitted, “(The cause of victory) was Kim Jun-wan’s super catch. That alone made the team atmosphere good.”
Later, Kim Jun-wan joined the Sangmu Baseball Team after the 2017 season, and returned during the 2019 season. However, he did not receive a chance from the team afterwards, and was eventually notified of his release by NC at the end of 2021. After that, he went through a tryout and wore a Kiwoom uniform.
Last year, Kim Jun-wan played in 111 games for Kiwoom and came out of 398 at-bats, the most by an individual. His batting average was low at 0.192, but he also garnered more walks (64) than hits (61) by banking on his talent for pioneering, and achieved an on-base percentage of 0.339. He appeared in 76 games this season, but his position narrowed as young players such as Lee Ju-hyung (22) and Park Soo-jong (24) joined the outfield, and he eventually experienced the pain of being released after the end of the season.