Those responsible for the Lotte Giants’ ‘present’ gathered in front of an eternal ‘baseball hero’.
On December 12, a memorial event was held in front of the statue of Choi Dong-won in front of Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan to honor the 12th anniversary of his death.
The event, organized by the Choi Dong-won Memorial Association (hereinafter referred to as the Memorial Association), was attended by Lee Kang-hoon, CEO of Lotte, Sung Min-kyu, acting head coach Lee Jong-woon, and captain Ahn Chi-hong, who were joined by Choi’s mother, Kim Jung-ja, and paid tribute to the statue.
Choi Dong-won, Lotte’s first “permanent number one,” is a legend who led the franchise to its first championship in the 1984 Korean Series, winning four games by himself. Lotte would only win two more Korean Series titles until 1992, when Yeom Jong-seok led the team.
In his KBO career, Choi appeared in 248 games and pitched 1414⅔ innings, compiling a 103-74 record with a 2.46 ERA. His 81 complete games and 15 shutouts are equally impressive.카지노
Han passed away in 2011, leaving behind his love for his hometown team Lotte, the glory he created, and his fiery baseball career. The memorial project was created by a group of people who remembered Choi Dong-won, who never returned to his hometown of Busan after his death. The first memorial event was held in 2013, the second anniversary of Choi’s death, when a statue was unveiled in the plaza of Sajik Baseball Stadium. Since then, the memorial organization has been honoring the deceased on the 14th day of Lotte games and the 13th day of non-lotte games as “Choi Dong-won Day.
Lotte President Sung Min-kyu, CEO Lee Kang-hoon, mother Kim Jung-ja, acting manager Lee Jong-woon, and Ahn Chi-hong observe a moment of silence at the 12th anniversary memorial event for the late Choi Dong-won in front of the statue of Choi Dong-won at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on Wednesday.
The ceremony began with a talk about Choi Dong-won by Lotte’s first head coach, Park Young-gil, who recruited him to Lotte, followed by a wreath laying ceremony and autograph signings by Lotte legends Yeom Jong-seok and Joo Hyung-kwang.
“Today was the largest gathering (over 200 people) since the statue unveiling ceremony (400 people),” said Kang Jin-soo, Secretary General of the Memorial Project. In addition to the memorial event, the organization operates the Choi Dong-won Award, the Choi Dong-won Award for High School, and a youth baseball team.
Before the game against the NC Dinos, Lotte broadcast a memorial video of Choi Dong-won on the big screen, and the players and spectators observed a moment of silence together. The players of the youth baseball team then sang the national anthem, and baseball player Kwon Jin-hyuk of his alma mater, Gyeongnam High School, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The Lotte players wore his number 11 and a silhouette patch on their jerseys during the game.
Acting Lotte head coach Lee Jong-woon said, “We have to win no matter what. We just have to do our best, one game at a time. There is no tomorrow. I think that’s what the fans want,” he said, adding, “Our players will play with a special heart as it’s Choi Dong-won Day. It’s my job to make sure they don’t give up until the end.” The day before, Lotte was in seventh place, eight games behind fifth-place SSG Landers.