[인천 야구 눈물의 40년]
Finding the owners who have been twisted since the first professional years
Through Sammi·Cheongbo·Pacific
I won my first title in Hyundai
Going to Suwon like a night escape…
Let’s leave SK, which was the’dynasty’
Fans “Even the memories seem to be erasing”
The Sammi Superstars professional baseball team held an inauguration ceremony at the Incheon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the founding representative is taking an oath. yunhap news
The owner of Incheon Baseball is changing again. It’s been 21 years. Re-founded after the acquisition of Ssangbangwool Raiders SK Wyverns disappeared into the back of history when it was sold to Shinsegae Group. Shinsegae Group will be the 6th owner based on Incheon. Shinsegae Group is enthusiastic while advocating integrated marketing, but prerequisite tasks are piled up. One of them is to support the fans of Incheon Baseball, who is already experiencing their fifth breakup. This is because Incheon Baseball has a deep and deep history of wounds. In 1981, the first professional baseball initiation committee contacted Incheon as a professional team in Hyundai. However, the late Chairman Chung Ju-young was busy hosting the 1988 Olympics, so he had no interest in establishing a professional baseball team. Following Hyundai, Korean cosmetics and Korean Air asked for their intention to launch, but they were rejected one after another. It was a twist from finding the first owner of Incheon baseball. After that, Sammi Superstars became the first baseball player in Incheon. ‘Superstars’ was a name borrowed from Superman, but even the formation of the squad was difficult. It was the weakest player in six clubs, with a win rate of 10% (0.188) in the first year of a professional, staying at 15 wins and 65 losses. This is the league’s lowest win rate yet unbroken. In 1983, Sammi took the lead in 30 wins (16 defeats, 6 saves) of the Korean-Japanese generals in Japan, ranking second in the pre- and post-secondary leagues, but continued to fall. Due to financial difficulties, Sammi sold the baseball team for 7.5 billion won to Cheongbo Foods. It was in 1985, when the record for the most consecutive losses (18 consecutive losses) was written. Cheongbo Pintos’ grades were also poor. At the time, commentator Huh Gu-yeon, who was 34 years old at the time, took the baton, but was struggling in the last place, and as the parent company (Punghan Textile) went bankrupt, it was eventually sold to Pacific Chemical (now Amorepacific) for 5 billion won in October 1987. It was only in 1983 that the average crowd in six seasons exceeded 4,000 in six seasons due to a failure in crowding as much as his performance.
Cheongbo Pintos was founded at Incheon Baseball Stadium and is receiving short term. yunhap news
Pacific Dolphins was jagged in terms of grades. In the first year of the takeover, he was last, but at that time, coach Kim Seong-geun, who resigned from the OB Bears, was seated as the command tower, and in 1989, he finished third in the regular league, making it the first postseason of the Incheon baseball team. The total audience exceeded 400,000 for the first time (410,498). However, after that, his grades declined (5th place), and coach Kim also voluntarily resigned after not fulfilling his three-year term. Pacific entered the 1994 Korean series with pitchers such as Jeong Myung-won and Choi Sang-deok. Although it was defeated by the LG Twins, it was the first Korean series stage for the Incheon team.
Pacific Dolphins Kim Gyeonggi home-in in the 1994 Korean Series Game 3 yunhap news
After falling to 7th place in 1995, the Pacific Dolphins was sold to Hyundai. The sale price was 47 billion won. Hyundai, who claimed to be the’Unicorn’ of Incheon Baseball, won the Incheon Baseball Team’s first championship in 1998 with aggressive player recruitment. However, Hyundai, having a dream of entering Seoul, gave Incheon to SK, which acquired Ssangbang-wool Raiders in January 2000, and left for Suwon, a temporary connection site, like a night escape.
Hyundai Unicorns players who beat the LG Twins in 1998 and won the Korean Series are waving their hands at the fans holding the championship spread. yunhap news
At this time, Incheon baseball fans were at a crossroads of choice. I had to choose whether to continue to support Hyundai, which is rooted in Incheon baseball, or SK, whose predecessor was Ssangbang-ul, where Jeonju was related. Perhaps for this reason, the total number of spectators in the first year (2000) of SK Baseball Team was only 8,4563 (average 1281). The fatigue for the fifth team related to Incheon was that much. ‘Spring’ of Incheon baseball came in 2007 with the inauguration of manager Kim Seong-geun. SK’s leadership and team organization were combined with the leadership of Kim, winning the championships in 2007, 2008, and 2010, opening the’Era of the Dynasty’ in name and reality. In line with this, he presented a new paradigm of’Spottainment’ (Sports + Entertainment) to the baseball world. SK has attracted an average of more than 10,000 spectators per game since 2007, and in 2010 for the first time in the history of the team, it exceeded 1 million spectators for the first time. During the 2011 season, coach Seong-geun Kim voluntarily resigned after a disagreement with the team leader, and SK, who remained in the middle of the ranks for a while, created a fall baseball legend with Trey Hillman in 2018. He overcame the gap of 14.5 games in the regular league against Doosan Bears and won the’Upset Championship’. However, on the last day of the 2019 season, it crashed after giving Doosan first place, and accepted the worst report card (9th place) in the 2020 season. Director Yeom Gyeong-yeop, General Manager Son Cha-hoon, and Ryu Jun-yeol, all in a row, took off their clothes. SK dreamed of a new start by recruiting new manager Kim Won-hyung after changing into the system of President Min Gyeong-sam and General Manager Ryu Seon-gyu, but unexpectedly the club was sold and faced a doom to reset the history of the baseball team itself.
SK Wyverns coach Trey Hillman and players, who won the 2018 Korean Series by beating the Doosan Bears, are greeted with a sign meaning’I Love You’. yunhap news
SK has emphasized’Incheon SK’ to capture the hearts of Incheon fans from the beginning of its foundation. Unlike other baseball teams that shout’strongest Samsung’ or’invincible LG’ on the cheering squad, they put the name of the region ahead. Since SK, who made such efforts, sells baseball teams completely regardless of the financial situation of the parent group, the shock wave of Incheon fans is considerable. On the 26th, Junsik Choi (31, freelancer), a native Incheon baseball fan, said on the 26th, “It is difficult to accept the fact that the team I loved for more than 20 years since school days will change in an instant.” It’s nice to have a CEO, but it feels like I have to erase my memories for some reason that the’name’ is erased.” “The Shinsegae Baseball Team is also likely to last 10 years. There was also a cynical reaction, saying, “I’ll hit it this time.” Another Incheon baseball fan, Ji-Hye Cho (47, self-employed), said, “When SSK first came, I thought’it will last a little longer’, but since it has changed again, I can’t attach it. I don’t know if I’ll like baseball the way I used to.” Unlike professional baseball, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, the clock of Incheon Baseball has become ‘0’ (zero) again. By Kim Yang-hee, staff reporter [email protected]