Lotte Giants
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An editor thinks that this article may not be neutral. (December 2010) |
Lotte Giants is a professional baseball team established in 1982. As we can see the name, the company Lotte supports this team and Lotte Giants are based on the cities Busan, Changwon Korea. They are one of the original franchises of the Korea Baseball Organization league. They have Sajik Baseball Stadium and Masan Baseball Stadium (Changwon Baseball Stadium now). They represent KyungNam province. So they don’t give up the game and show very exciting play style. Lotte Giants won the first place on 1984, 1992. With enthusiastic Busan residents, in 2008, 2009, 2010 Lotte Giants recode about 4 million spectators and that is the best record. The passionate spectators develop their unique cheer cultures. The symbol of this team is a gull which represents Busan where is a harbor place. “Passion” and “Endurance” are the values which Busan and Lotte Giants share.
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The Golden Ages [change]
With hot passon, there were great pitchers in Lotte Giants. In 1984, there was a pitcher Choi Dong-Won who won the 4 games in Korean Series. In 1992, there was Yeom Jong-Seok who was a rookie but the ace pitcher and Yoon Hak-Gil who was called "lonely prince" played very important role to win the first place. Also there were burning hitters like "Tank" Park Jeong-Tae, "Ma-Po" Ma Hae-Young, "Mr. Lotte" Kim Min-Ho. Lotte Giants were not the strong team but always threatened the high class teams with their enthusiasm.
The Dark Ages [change]
After 90's, franchise stars got retired as times went by. Always they were the root of the team who kept the basement. But the rookie players were not prepared for the change of the generation. Also a manager Baek In-Cheon was posted and he was not the right person to run the team. So from the 2001 to 2004, Lotte Giants recoded the bottom place, making the people in Busan people unhappy. Lotte Giants recorded 8-8-8-8-5-7-7 and people from other team called "Ggoldae" which means Lotte is the bottom loser.
The Renaissance Period [change]
Suddenly a foreign manager came to Lotte Giants. His name is Jeron Kennis Royster simply "Jerry". His strategies was innovative and he gave courages to the players. With his efforts, he found out great players then he made Lotte Giants go into the Post Seasons. Fans named this "Royster Magic". From 2008 to 2010, Lotte Giants got advanced to the Post Seasons and made Busan people be happy.
The Assignments for Lotte Giants [change]
For the enthusiastic fans, players tried to give back their thankfulness. But some players made some issues like driving a car after drinking alcohol or hit the person with his bat. And Lotte company has a little negative images among the fans. The fans should send their franchise stars almost without the farewell party. The Lotte company sometimes paid low-wages and it made the players depressed. Royster was fired in this year because he could not won the first place. The pro-baseball is a business but fans are also important factor of the team. And sometimes too enthusiastic fans made messy during the games so it should be controlled.
The Spirit of Lotte Giants [change]
In 2000, suddenly a player collapsed near the 2B. His name is Im Soo-Hyuk. Due to the poor preparation, he could not receive proper first-aid then his brain got damaged. After that, he had stayed on the bed losing his consciousness. Include Lotte Giants players, many people volunteerily made a game or events for his medical expenses. The fans also paid expenses for him. Lotte Giants players remembered him and did the event every year. It is impressive thing beyond the pro or business mind. Even though he was death in this year 2010, Their sincere mind made many baseball fans moved.
The Retired Popular Stars of Lotte Giants [change]
Choi Dong-Won : He was one of the legend in this team. At that time, his name value was as same as Sun Dong-Ryeol one of the best pitcher in Korean Baseball league. With his effort, Lotte Giants won the first place in 1984.[1]
Kim Yong-Hee : He was the one of the best 3B player. He is famous for gaining All-Star rewards so his nickname is "Mr. All Star".[2]
Kim Min-Ho : From 1984, he played as a 4th hitter. He was one of the power hitter in early 90's Lotte Giants. He had his special form which was called "a Jagalchi hitting form" His nickname is "Mr. Lotte".[3]
Yeom Jong-Seok : In 1992, Lotte Giants won the Korean Series and there was a rookie pitcher who did the most important job at the stadium. He was Yeom Jong-Seok who threw very dynamic sliders. But due to the hard work, he had to receive surgeon. Fans mention about him that pitchers should have given for their hard work. Their shoulders are not the iron ones.
Joo Hyung-Kwang : He was also one of the best rookie pitcher with his bright left hand. Before Ryu Hyun-Jin, every recode which a rookie pitcher could do was made by this pitcher. Like his name Hyung-Kwang, he was too bright to maintain his talent. Also he was the ace pitcher who kept Lotte Giants in mid 90's.
Park Jeong-Tae : He is the legend of Lotte Giants and his leadership and will to victory is the spirit of Busan and Lotte Giants. He spoke that. "If you don't have passion, you cannot wear the uniform of Giants." His nickname is a "Tank".[4]
Yoon Hak-Gil : He is the pitcher who always finished the game only his effort. He pitched more than 100 games by himself. He now becomes the head coach of Lotte Giants. His nickname is a "Lonely Prince".[5]
Ma Hae-Young : He was the next 4th hitter after Kim Min-Ho. In 1999, he was the center of the clean-up trio and his hitting rate was 0.375 and he lead his team to Korean Series. However, he worked as a member of the meeting for player's right then Lotter company traded him to SamSung Lions. His nickname is "Ma-Po"
Jeon Joon-Ho : He was the fast runner who stole lots of 2B and 3B. "Big thief" was his nickname and competed "base stealing title" with Lee Jong-Bum. He was one of the best leadoff of Lotte Giants.
Kim Ueng-Kook : His name is similar to the popular star Kim Heung-Kook so he got the nickname "Horang Naby". Between the leadoff and the clean-up trio, he successfully connected them doing the best job as a 2nd hitter. He was the one of the best out-fielder.
