“I cried a lot then, didn’t I? I didn’t have any tears this time, maybe because I cried too much then.”
Oh Sun-jin was a player with a single-minded ‘eagle love’. However, she experienced two breakups.
The Lotte Giants’ 2023 season farewell ceremony was held at Sangdong Baseball Stadium in Gimhae on May 25. Oh Sun-jin, who was selected in the second round of the draft in the middle of the week and changed his uniform to Lotte, was the first to greet the team.
Taking the microphone, Oh said, “This is my first time playing for the prestigious Lotte team. I will do my best with pride,” he smiled.
However, when he first heard the news that he was going to Lotte, his feelings were probably more complicated than anyone else.
Oh joined the Hanwha Eagles in the fourth round of the 2008 draft and played as an all-weather infield multi-role player until 2021. He was then traded to the Samsung Lions. At the time of the trade, many Hanwha fans were in tears as they watched Oh fuming in an interview on Hanwha’s YouTube channel.
At Samsung, he had a belated peak. He had a career-high season in 2022, batting .275 with a .667 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) while covering all positions in the infield, mainly at third base, and was a successful free agent. He signed a one-year, up to $400 million free agent contract with Hanwha, who were looking to fill the void left by Ha Joo-seok.
He performed adequately as an infield utility this season, but was plagued by injuries.
After the season, he was removed from the 35-man protected list in the second round of the draft and joined Lotte, who were looking to fill the void left by Ahn Chi-hong’s free agency.
“Honestly, I’m disappointed,” Oh said when asked about the move. “I was working out with (Chae) Eun-sung in Seosan, and I didn’t know the result, but when I got the call, my head was white,” he said, recalling his panic.
He got married last December and set up his honeymoon home. His wife’s family is from Cheongju, which was one of the reasons he returned to Hanwha in free agency. 먹튀검증토토사이트 But now he has to move to Busan. He said, “I feel sorry for my wife. It’s still a bit complicated. I will discuss it with my wife,” he added.
“I couldn’t cry much this time, maybe because I cried so much then, or maybe because it’s only been a year since I came back… But I’ve been with Hanwha since I was a kid, and I have a lot of affection for them. I hope Hanwha and Lotte will meet in high places next year.”
Oh showed off his closeness to his friend Noh Jin-hyuk, as well as Shin Jeong-rak and Lee Hak-joo,
who played together at Hanwha and Samsung, and business associate Yoo Kang-nam and Kim Sang-soo. “The first person I called was Yoo Kang-nam. There are a lot of players I’m connected to,” he laughed.
“Ever since I was a kid, I thought Lotte was a great team. The passion of the fans is amazing, and the cheers that resonate in Sajik Stadium are really cool even for a young mind.”
While it was unfortunate to change teams, the flip side of that is that it was a validation. Oh Sun-jin said, “It means that I am the player Lotte needs. I will do my best again. I will do my best to play the role that the team needs.”
“My strength is that I can play all positions in the infield. I will do my best to fill in wherever a player is struggling.”