Former pro baseball player Hwang Jae-gyun took the field one last time and ended his 20-year career in tears, as his retirement day was shown on MBC’s “The Manager” on October 10.
According to Korea Ilbo, the episode follows Hwang’s final day as a player with his team, the KT Wiz, from the anxious wait on the bench to the retirement ceremony after the game.
His appearance was far from guaranteed. Although he made the special retirement roster, KT Wiz was in the middle of a fierce playoff race, and with the game locked in a tight three-run battle, he could only watch from the dugout at first. When he finally stepped up for his last at-bat, the stadium erupted. KT Wiz fans and fans of the Lotte Giants, the team he played for over seven years, sang his cheer song together. Expected to finish at the plate, he then also took the field on defense, returning to the diamond after 345 days.
After the game, the retirement ceremony looked back on his two decades as a pro, with congratulatory messages from colleagues, seniors, and juniors. But when a video letter from his parents was shown, Hwang could no longer hold back and broke down in tears.
He also stood before the fans one final time to deliver his retirement farewell in person, closing the book on the 20 years he spent on the field.
