Oh Seung-hwan (43), the best closer in the KBO League, suffered his mother's death ahead of the opening of the regular season.
The Samsung club said on the 19th that Oh Seung-hwan's mother, Kim Hyung-deok, passed away the previous day (18th). The mortuary was set up at the funeral hall 103 of Korea University Anam Hospital in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.스포츠토토
Oh Seung-hwan recently trained and cared for his mother at the same time due to her deteriorating condition. He reportedly returned home early from the spring camp held in Okinawa, Japan in February after hearing that his mother was in critical condition.
Oh Seung-hwan, the youngest among the three sons, is well known for his extraordinary love for his parents. He mentioned his mother's restaurant several times as one of his own ways to rest in the past. When he joined the Hanshin Tigers in the Japanese professional baseball league in the winter of 2013, he gave a house worth 5 billion won (about 5 million U.S. dollars), saying, "I want to buy my parents a big house (with a down payment).
He took care of his mother in both Seoul and Daegu. He also took the mound twice at exhibition games. At a home game against the LG Twins on Saturday, his first game, he showed poor performance by allowing three hits and three runs during one inning. He had difficulty maintaining his normal pace. At the match against the Kia Tigers on Sunday, he regained stability by allowing no hit and no walk during one inning, but had to face the sad news that he was the face of his mother.
Oh will start the final season of his contract amid the pain of his mother. It is the last year of his two-year contract (2.2 billion won in total) signed in 2023. This year, Oh will play the role of midfielder in the 6th to 7th innings, not the group he was used to. He is included in the group of must-winners, but his importance is lower than that of the setup men (8th inning) and the closure (9th inning). Rumors say Oh has also accepted the transfer. The KBO league legend's "Dream 500 Saves" has become difficult, but Oh plans to burn the last flame for his team, not for individuals.
Meanwhile, the Futures (second division) team that played in Mungyeong and the first division team that held a safety prayer ceremony in Daegu visited the mortuary on Wednesday to pay their respects. It was a late night, but they came up a long way to share their sorrows with their seniors and colleagues.