This March 12, 2024, file photos shows Hanwha Eagles outfielder Kim Kang-min (L) during a Korea Baseball Organization preseason game at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The SSG Landers announced Tuesday they will hold a retirement ceremony next year for their former outfielder Kim Kang-min.
Kim, 42, announced his retirement after spending the 2024 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season with the Hanwha Eagles. But he had played for the Landers/SK Wyverns franchise from 2002 to 2023, helping them to five Korean Series titles.
“We would like to recognize his hard work and dedication to the team for over two decades and his contribution to our five championships,” the Landers said, adding that they will decide the exact date of Kim’s ceremony later.
Kim was the MVP of the 2022 Korean Series during the Landers’ most recent title run. He launched two key home runs in a six-game victory over the Kiwoom Heroes, including a walkoff three-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 5-4 win in Game 5.
After the 2023 season, however, the Landers left Kim exposed for the league’s annual secondary draft, which lets all 10 teams select players not on the 35-man protected list. It was a highly unpopular decision by the Landers, who faced even more heat when the Eagles swooped in and acquired Kim.
Kim contemplated retirement then but decided to play for one more year. In 2024, he appeared in just 41 of the Eagles’ 144 games, batting .224 with one homer and seven RBIs as one of the oldest players in the KBO.
For his career, Kim batted .273 with 139 home runs, 681 RBIs, 209 steals and 1,487 hits.
He also played in 73 postseason games, putting up a .264 batting average, six homers and 30 RBIs.
(Yonhap)
