“Winning a championship after 29 years, 2023 was the best year for me.”
That’s what shortstop Oh Ji-hwan said on stage at the 2023 KBO Golden Glove (GG) Award ceremony on November 11. He emphasized the experience of winning the award and thanked his family and teammates for helping him have the best year ever.
Oh’s sentiments were echoed by Goo Ja-rook (Samsung Lions). Although he took the podium as a proud winner (Outfielder), he was envious of Oh’s ability to say “I won” at the year-end ceremony, as he had never won an award before. “I hope that at the next award ceremony, I will be able to say, ‘I’m happy that the team won,’ just like (Oh) Jihwan. I want to say, ‘It was the best year ever,'” he said.
After joining Samsung in 2012, Gu Zhaolu spent the early part of his professional career with the “Samsung Dynasty,” but he didn’t really get to bask in the glory of the championship. He spent 2012 in the second team and the next two years doing military service with the Commercial Baseball Organization, so he was unable to experience Samsung’s four consecutive unified championships (2011-2014).
After his discharge from the military, Koo made his first-team debut in 2015, where he batted .349 with 11 home runs and 57 RBIs, earning Rookie of the Year honors. However, he was unable to win a championship as the team finished as runners-up in the Korean Series. That’s how far Koo would go from winning, as Samsung failed to reach the fall stage for seven seasons except for 2021 (when they finished second in the regular season). 랭크카지노
In the 12 years since, Gu Jia-ru has accumulated enough experience to become the team’s captain. As one of the few players who has smelled the scent of dynasty, he is desperate to win. The more desperate he was, the more the words of “championship captain” Oh Ji-hwan resonated with him and motivated him.
“Realistically, I can’t say, ‘I’m going to win the championship right away next year,'” he said. It’s my role as captain to create a good teamwork and make the Samsung Lions stronger and stronger.” He envisions himself standing on the podium as a ‘winning captain’ one day, and expressed his desire to win.