Even a dynasty cannot last forever. With the retirement of Jang Won-jun (Doosan Bears), strictly speaking, only six members remain as winners of the 2016 Korean Series.
Doosan officially announced Wonjun Jang’s retirement on the 28th. In 446 career games, he had 132 wins, 119 losses, 14 holds, 1 save, an ERA of 4.28, and 1,385 strikeouts in 2,000 innings. He was a key pitcher for the Doosan dynasty, and left a mark in KBO League history that could be compared to that of Gwang Hyeon-jong.
The biggest inflection point in Jang Won-jun’s baseball life was the four-year, 8 billion won free agent contract with Doosan signed in the 2014-2015 free agent market. Jang Won-jun consistently achieved double-digit multipliers until 2017. In particular, he led the team to their second consecutive loss in the Korean Series with 12 wins, 12 losses, and an ERA of 4.08 in 30 games in 2015, and 15 wins, 6 losses, and an ERA of 3.32 in 27 games in 2016.
It was the peak of the Doosan dynasty. Doosan advanced to the Korean Series for seven consecutive years from 2015 to 2021, and Jang Won-Jun suffered a sharp decline starting in 2018. Still, it remains true that he is a signature pitcher who created the foundation of the Doosan dynasty.
But nothing is permanent in history. One by one, the Doosan Dynasty members take off their Bears uniforms. There are quite a few players who have retired or donned the uniform of another club. Based on the 28 players included in the 2016 Korean Series entry, only 6 players currently remain in Doosan.
Other than Doosan, there are only 9 players who are active in other KBO league clubs. Myung-Jun Yoon and Hae-Seong Kook were released from the Lotte Giants after this season and are on the verge of retirement. Most of the winning members of the 2019 Korean Series are still alive, but the 2016 members are slowly entering history. 2016 was the strongest season during the Doosan dynasty. Jang Won-jun was a member of the Fantastic Four.굿모닝토토
The six people remaining at Doosan are also veterans. Kim Jae-ho, the most senior member of the team, did not remain in active duty for long. Classmates Jeong Soo-bin and Heo Gyeong-min, born in 1990, have already entered the ranks of seniors. He is still the core of the team, along with another senior member, Yang Eui-ji. Kim Kang-ryul is also a veteran on the mound, and Kim Jae-hwan has continued to perform poorly in recent years.
There is nothing permanent in life. In the mid-2010s, the Doosan dynasty is gradually disappearing into history with the departure of Jang Won-jun. Now, the most important thing for Doosan is to use the remaining dynasty members as the pillars to create a driving force for the future.