Lotte coach Larry Sutton recalled that Chau-chan, 36, who officially retired from active duty on Sunday, showed a strong desire to make a comeback from camp. The veteran knew he couldn’t throw the ball like he used to, but he wanted to at least have a chance to finish with honor.
“I saw him for the first time in camp, and we spent some time together,” Sutton said before the Sasak SSG game on Sunday. “He was very motivated to stay in shape,” Sutton recalled, “and he talked about how he was coming to the end of his career and wanted to push (his body) and have a great finish. However, Chowchan never got that chance. He never returned to the first team and announced his retirement.
Lotte announced his retirement on July 17. “I thought this year would be my last, so I prepared hard from spring training to the season, but my body and condition did not keep up, so I decided to retire,” the club said. Chau-chan, who has a history of shoulder injuries and surgeries, rehabbed diligently with the goal of returning later in the year, but his shoulder, which had already been damaged once, did not come back.
Despite steady progress, his last official appearance was on June 10, when he pitched one inning against SSG 2 in the Futures League. “I tried my best and worked hard, but my body didn’t improve as much as I thought it would, so I made the decision to retire,” Sutton said. “An athlete can’t stay retired forever. There comes a time when you can’t play baseball anymore and you have to make the decision to retire. However, it is not easy for anyone to announce their retirement,” he lamented.
A second-round (seventh overall) pick of Samsung in 2006 out of Gunsan Sango High School, Chau-chan was a promising youngster who struggled with a nagging pitching problem early in his career. He made his first-team debut in 2006, but struggled with a 6.11 ERA in 23 games in 2007, a 4.17 ERA in 25 games in 2008, and a 6.09 ERA in 42 games in 2009. However, as a result of his hard work, he began to emerge as an important pitcher for the team in 2010.
A lefty who could throw a fastball in the mid-90s and a slider with a solid changeup, Chowchan was an anchor on the Samsung mound, sometimes as a starter and sometimes in the bullpen, and was a key part of the Samsung dynasty. While he has had his ups and downs, there is no doubt that he has been a hard-working player without any major injuries.
As a result, he reached his peak in the 2017 season when he signed a massive four-year, 9.5 billion won ($9.5 million) free agent contract with LG, which was in need of a left-handed ace. Since joining LG, he has done his part, winning 10 games in 2017, 12 in 2018, and 13 in 2019.
Chow Chan’s work ethic didn’t stop with his team. He was also a regular on the national team. His good stuff, guts, and versatility made him a favorite of many national team coaches.
He participated in the 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC), 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, 2015 Premier12, 2017 WBC, and 2019 Premier12. However, it is widely believed that he was unable to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), which was his last international tournament.
Chowchan has had problems with his left shoulder, which began to plague him in 2020. That’s why he only appeared in 13 games in 2020. He was cut from the national team five games into 2021 when he was just starting to rehabilitate, and he never threw a ball for the first team again.안전놀이터
Chauchan personally was reportedly very eager to compete in the Olympics, but in the end, he disappeared from our radar after this point. This has led some to criticize the decision to drop him. As a result, LG lost a lot of money.
Chau-chan didn’t make a single appearance in the first team in 2022. In need of a left-hander, Lotte signed him for an annual salary of 50 million won, hoping for a comeback in the second half of the year, but the long rehabilitation period reportedly put a lot of stress on him. Eventually, he decided that he could no longer compete and announced his retirement on the 17th.
Chow-chan is a left-hander with 112 career wins in the KBO. He didn’t have the flashy numbers of Ryu Hyun-jin, Kim Kwang-hyun, or Yang Hyun-jong, but he worked hard to build his record in 457 games. It would be a shame for him to disappear without saying goodbye. It will be interesting to see if Chau-chan has a chance to say goodbye to his fans in a somewhat hollow retirement.