KBO's Eagles decide not to re-sign manager Kim Kyung-moon

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- The Hanwha Eagles announced Saturday they will not bring back manager Kim Kyung-moon after his three-year contract expires at the end of this season.

Kim first took over the Eagles in June 2024. Last year, he guided the Eagles to their first Korean Series since 2006, but they lost to the LG Twins in five games.

This year, the Eagles had long clinched ninth place in the 10-team Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) prior to their final regular-season game Saturday, with a win-loss-tie record of 57-82-4.

The Eagles said they are looking to hire a new manager with Kim's contract expiring, and they also thanked the veteran skipper for his services.

Kim himself announced he will not be back next year during his pregame media availability Saturday.

"This will be my last game here. I am really sorry to our fans that we have lost so many games," Kim told reporters at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul. "I feel bad that I am leaving without having made the team better. I would like to thank all the players, coaches and front office staff that have been with me on this journey."

At 67, Kim has been the oldest manager in the KBO this year. He has yet to win a Korean Series title in over 20 years as manager -- the 2025 runner-up finish being his fifth.

He is one of three managers in league history with over 1,000 regular-season wins. He came into Saturday's game with 1,078 wins, 957 losses and 39 ties.

In 2025, the Eagles nearly won the pennant and posted the second-best record in the regular season at 83-57-4. Their two American aces, Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss, formed a deadly one-two punch atop the rotation, combining for 33 wins and 459 strikeouts in 359 1/3 innings. Ponce was voted the league MVP after winning the pitching Triple Crown as the league leader in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He and Weiss, with 252 strikeouts and 207 strikeouts, respectively, became the first pair of teammates to record at least 200 Ks in the same season.

However, both of them left for Major League Baseball this year, and their two replacements, Owen White and Wilkel Hernandez, never filled that void. After Hernandez was cut in July, his replacement, Bruce Zimmermann, also struggled mightily in the rotation before moving to the bullpen.

The Eagles' offense this year has been better than 2025, as they are tops in the KBO with 175 home runs and 813 runs scored. Their big free agent acquisition Kang Baek-ho has led the way with his career-high 34 dingers.

But they have the KBO's second-worst ERA at 5.27, compared with their league-best mark of 3.55 in 2025.