LG picks Lee Byung-kyu, Park Yong-taek as first pitchers for last Jamsil home game
In short
LG Twins said Lee Byung-kyu, a Futures League manager whose number the club retired, and commentator Park Yong-taek will throw the ceremonial first pitches at its final regular-season home game at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 7 against the Doosan Bears. The club has planned a pre-game autograph session, a joint photo with Doosan players, bouquets for stadium staff and post-game fireworks for the farewell. Jamsil Stadium, which opened in July 1982, is due to be demolished at the end of this year and replaced by a new stadium.
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LG Twins said on Oct. 5 that Lee Byung-kyu, the Futures League manager whose number the club has permanently retired, and commentator Park Yong-taek will throw the ceremonial first pitches at its final regular-season home game at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. The game, against the Doosan Bears, is set for Oct. 7, and the two will also take part in a pre-game autograph session, the club said. Yonhap reported the plan, and Newsis and Chosun Ilbo also carried headlines on the two former players' selection. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
LG said it has prepared a series of events for the last home game. Before the first pitch, LG and Doosan players, who have shared Jamsil, will pose for a final group photograph, and LG general manager Cha Myung-seok will present bouquets to staff handling groundkeeping, the restaurant, cleaning and facilities, according to Yonhap. After the game, the club will hold a send-off ceremony for the postseason and fireworks marking its last regular-season game at the stadium. [ 1 ]
Lee said he had many good memories connected to Jamsil Stadium and that it was a shame the venue would disappear. Park said it now seemed time to bury Jamsil in memories, that he had grown big dreams there and worked toward them, and that throwing the first pitch of the final home game was an honor. [ 1 ]
Jamsil Stadium opened in July 1982 and was loved for 44 years as a center of Korean baseball, Yonhap reported. It is due to be demolished at the end of this year under the Seoul city government's private-investment project to create a Jamsil sports and MICE — corporate meetings, tourism, conventions and exhibitions — complex, the agency said, with a new, state-of-the-art stadium to be built after construction work. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
Jamsil Stadium has been a home of Seoul baseball since 1982, and its demolition at the end of this year closes a 44-year chapter for the two KBO clubs that have shared it. By bringing back two players whose numbers are permanently retired as first-pitch throwers, LG turns its last regular-season home game into a farewell for the venue rather than a routine fixture. No schedule for the demolition work or the new stadium has been announced in the documents.
Key facts
- LG Twins announced on Oct. 5 that Lee Byung-kyu, the club's permanently retired Futures League manager, and commentator Park Yong-taek will throw the ceremonial first pitches at its last home game at Jamsil Stadium. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The game is scheduled for Oct. 7 at Jamsil Stadium against the Doosan Bears and is LG's final regular-season home game there. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Before the game, LG and Doosan players will take a final group photograph, and LG general manager Cha Myung-seok will give bouquets to staff in ground management, the restaurant, cleaning and facilities, according to Yonhap. [ 1 ]
- After the game, LG will hold a postseason send-off ceremony and fireworks marking its last regular-season game at the stadium, Yonhap reported. [ 1 ]
- Lee said he has many good memories connected to Jamsil Stadium and that it is a shame the venue will disappear; Park said it now seems time to bury Jamsil in memories and that throwing the final home game's first pitch is an honor. [ 1 ]
- Yonhap reported that Jamsil Stadium opened in July 1982 and was loved for 44 years as a center of Korean baseball, and will be demolished at the end of this year under Seoul's Jamsil sports and MICE complex private-investment project, with a new stadium to be built afterwards. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- When the stadium will be demolished and when the new stadium will be completed. Only Yonhap gives this background, and it says only that the demolition comes at the end of this year and that construction will follow, without dates.
- The Newsis article text, which describes a Joint Chiefs of Staff briefing on a DMZ mine explosion rather than the LG event. The document's body does not match its headline about LG's first-pitch selection, so its details cannot be used for this event.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Yonhap reports LG's announcement of the first-pitch invitees and the farewell events for the last home game at Jamsil Stadium. [ 1 ]
- Newsis reports LG's selection of Park Yong-taek and Lee Byung-kyu as first-pitch throwers for the final home game. [ 2 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports the farewell to Jamsil and the pre-game autograph session with the two invitees. [ 3 ]