“Rather Embarrassed”…Kim Yong-su Declines Ceremonial Pitch at Retired-Number Event; Only Lee Byeong-gyu and Park Yong-taek at Jamsil

LG's first retired number, Kim Yong-su (66), directly explained why he did not take the mound for the ceremonial first pitch at the final home game. He said he received the offer from General Manager Cha Myeong-seok but declined, feeling too embarrassed to appear on the mound so often.

Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.

Three-line summary

On October 23, Kim Yong-su wrote on Instagram that he had declined General Manager Cha Myeong-seok's offer of the ceremonial first pitch at LG's final home game.
For the October 7 final game, two of the three retired-number players, Lee Byeong-gyu and Park Yong-taek, handled the ceremonial pitches, and Park Si-won and Lee Jae-won served as ceremonial catchers.
Kim Yong-su, LG's No. 41, recorded 126 wins and 227 saves in his career, and his 1997 season salary was 122 million won.

“It is actually embarrassing for me to keep coming onto the mound to greet everyone so often…” This is the passage Kim Yong-su wrote in his October 23 Instagram post explaining why he declined. For the October 7 Jamsil home finale, he was the only one of the three LG retired-number players not on the mound. He explained the reason himself 16 days later. He did not simply go missing; he stepped back on his own.

The Offer Came First: Cha Myeong-seok's Invitation Preceded Kim Yong-su's Refusal

SPOTV News According to the SPOTV News report, Kim had been offered the home finale ceremonial pitch by General Manager Cha Myeong-seok. The reason he gave for declining was that appearing on the mound so often felt embarrassing to him. He wrote that he politely declined the offer. However, this remark is confirmed only through a single quoting report by SPOTV News, not from the original Instagram text.

The post also included thanks to the general manager and the team front office for inviting him. There is no basis for the interpretation that the team did not invite him. The invitation was extended, and the refusal was his choice.

LG Final Home Game Ceremonial Pitchers Lee Byeong-gyu and Park Yong-taek; Ceremonial Catchers Park Si-won and Lee Jae-won

Based on the TVING game footage, the October 7 ceremonial pitchers were two people: Lee Byeong-gyu (51) and Park Yong-taek (47). Xports News reported the ceremonial catchers as Park Si-won and Lee Jae-won, and later retrospective coverage had the same content. The premise that all three retired-number players threw ceremonial pitches is not accurate.

LG Retired Numbers: Ceremonial Pitch Status on October 7

Number	Name (age)	Retired number	Key record	Ceremonial pitch
41	Kim Yong-su(66)	Retired in 1999 while still active	126 wins, 227 saves	Declined
9	Lee Byeong-gyu(51)	Retirement ceremony on July 9, 2017	2,043 hits, .311 batting average	Ceremonial pitch
33	Park Yong-taek(47)	Retirement ceremony on July 3, 2022	2,504 career hits	Ceremonial pitch

The three men's contract amounts differ this much. Lee Byeong-gyu signed a three-year free-agent deal worth 2.55 billion won with LG in November 2013 (announced by LG). Park Yong-taek's four-year, 5 billion won contract was announced in November 2014. According to Sports Chosun and others, Kim Yong-su's 1997 season salary was 122 million won. Lee Byeong-gyu's single contract is about 21 times that salary (2.55 billion won ÷ 122 million won).

Kim Yong-su, Age 66, and the 126 Wins and 227 Saves Left by the “Old Pine”

Kim Yong-su was born on May 2, 1960, and is 66 this year. After Dongdaemun High School and Chung-Ang University, he joined MBC Cheongryong in 1985. After LG acquired MBC in 1990, he played 16 seasons for only one club until he retired in 2000. According to KBO official records, he appeared in 613 games, with 126 wins, 89 losses, and 227 saves, and a 2.98 ERA. After retiring, he served as head coach of Chung-Ang University.

Moving between starting and closing, he became the first in KBO history to reach 100 wins and 200 saves. He also won Korean Series MVP honors in 1990 and 1994. He was designated for a retired number in 1999 while still active, which the KBO presents as the league's first such case. In the 2022 KBO 40th anniversary legends vote, he earned 69.33 points, finishing 16th overall.

2022 KBO Legends 40, All-Around Pitcher Ranking

Overall rank	Name	Gap from Kim Yong-su
5th	Song Jin-woo	11 places higher
8th	Koo Dae-sung	8 places higher
16th	Kim Yong-su	—
21st	Lim Chang-yong	5 places lower

This ranking was set by expert and fan voting, not by performance statistics. The details of this matter have been summarized based on his own explanation.

Related official sites

LG Twins official website — LG Twins team official site
KBO official career record of Kim Yong-su — KBO official player record page
KBO official website — check official league records and announcements

Representative image · Archival photo · Not a photo from the current game described in the article · Photo=Wikimedia Commons (Cyberdoomslayer), CC BY-SA 4.0