(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Dae-ho = "My arm won't rise. How do I throw the ball?" (Park Cheol-soon)
“Brother, it hurts too. Throw it.” (Lee Man-su)
This is the story of Park Cheol-soon and Lee Man-soo Battery, who were selected as the best 10 in the first game of the All-Star Game in 1982, the first year of professional baseball, and worked together as Battery, reuniting after 44 years.
As time went by, it was difficult for the 'Phoenix' pitch to fly the distance of 18.44m from the mound to the home plate, but he was still young at heart.
This is a historic scene that could be seen at ‘Jamsil the Last Inning by Renault’ on the 14th, the farewell game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, which is undergoing reconstruction at the end of this year.
As if sad to say goodbye to Jamsil Stadium, a symbol of Korean professional baseball, the game opened with a joint opening ceremony by coaches Kim Eung-yong, Kim Seong-geun, Lee Man-soo, and Park Gyeong-wan, with late autumn rain moistening the Jamsil Ground.
The top of the first inning started with a 'first-year legendary match-up' between East Army starter Park Cheol-soon and West Army's No. 1 hitter Kim Bong-yeon.
Despite the creaking gestures, Kim Bong-yeon's batted ball was headed toward shortstop Ryu Joong-il, the protagonist of Jamsil Stadium's first home run.
Although it was not the same bullet throw as during his active career, Ryu Joong-il made an accurate one-bound throw to first base and got the first out.
Bae Young-soo took over the baton from Park Cheol-soon, who had to face only one batter.
Park Yong-taek, who was brought in as a pinch runner for Lee Hae-chang, who walked, broke through Lee Man-soo's checks and stole second base, as he is a 'young blood'.
What was more surprising than Park Yong-taek's stolen base was 68-year-old catcher Lee Man-su's throw to second base.
Even though the ball became slower due to time, the legendary throw never missed.
In the bottom of the first inning, Kim Kwang-soo reached base against West Army starter Lee Seon-hee with a hard hit that grazed the glove of third baseman Kim Seong-rae.
Lee Seung-yeop, who faced Jo Gye-hyun, who was pitching in relief, with one out and runners on first base, swung the bat with all his might like a reigning home run king, but the hit was only a fly ball to the second baseman that went slightly over the infield.
Song Jin-woo, who came on the mound in the bottom of the second inning, threw a ball at 120 km/h with a soft pitching stance, befitting his 60th birthday this year.
Yoon Seok-min, who came out later, caught the pitcher's fly ball even though he fell on the rain-soaked and slippery ground, bringing joy to the audience.
When Dustin Nippert became the first foreign player to take the mound following Daehyun Jeong in the top of the third inning, loud applause poured out.
Lee Man-soo, who has been at home since the first inning, also showed off his catching skills that have not rusted.
However, Lee Byeong-gyu gently pushed Nippert's 135 km/h ball as he did during his active career, hitting a double to left field, the first long hit of the day, and Kim Tae-gyun scored the first run with a timely hit to left.
After being hit in the shin by Jong-Hoon Jang's batted ball, Nippert jumped around deliberately pretending to be in pain, then took off his hat and bowed at a 90-degree angle to the surprised Jong-Hoon Jang, making him laugh.
Before the bottom of the third inning, the East team bench protested to the umpire to inspect pitcher Park Myung-hwan's hat.
It was a parody of an incident in 2005 when he was caught putting cabbage in his hat to cool his head while on active duty.
In the ensuing game with 2 outs and 2nd and 3rd bases, when Lee Dae-ho came back to bat, the West Army bench ordered an intentional walk, causing laughter.
In the top of the 4th inning, West Army shortstop Kim Jae-ho caught Shin Myeong-cheol's ground ball and performed a great feat by catching lead runner Lee Jong-beom with a glove back toss.
The West Army took a 2-0 lead thanks to Jo In-seong's heavy, timely hit.
In the home run derby held after the end of the 4th inning, Seung-yeop Lee and Byeong-ho Park were silent, but Tae-gyun Kim beat Dae-ho Lee, who had surpassed 2 first, and hit the last 2-run bonus home run to win the game with a total of 3 points.
In the top of the 5th inning, when the game resumed after cleaning time, pinch hitter Kim Seong-han reproduced his unique 'duck's back' batting method and brought out a vague memory.
In the top of the 7th inning, Koo Dae-seong appeared at the plate as a pinch hitter rather than a pitcher, reminding me of the scene in which he hit a double against Randy Johnson in 2005 while playing for the New York Mets of the Major League Baseball (MLB).
And in the bottom of the 7th inning, he went up to the mound and showed off his 'original dual sword style' appearance.
The game, which was a trip down memory lane full of laughter and emotion, lasted until the 7th inning, and the West team won 5-2 over the East team.
