Lotte Giants infielder Bae Seong-geun (28) announced his retirement.
On the 31st, the Lotte club announced that “Bae Seong-geun announced his retirement through a meeting with the club.”
Bae Seong-geun, who graduated from Ulsan Technical High School, was nominated with the 40th overall pick in the 2nd 4th round of the 2014 rookie draft and wore a Lotte uniform. Since then, he has gathered expectations as Lotte’s infield prospect. In the second half of 2019, he also attended the Chicago Cubs prospect camp in the US major league prepared by the club. 안전놀이터
However, the growth of Bae Seong-geun was not remarkable. In competition with Kim Min-soo, Lee Ho-yeon, Park Seung-wook, and Lee Hak-joo, he did not have an advantage. At the end of his last season, he struggled to survive, even trying to become a pitcher. However, at the end of the 2023 season, he announced his retirement from his playing career at the point of completion of his salary contract. His career record was a batting average of 108 in 140 games (33 hits in 183 at-bats), 1 home run, 11 RBIs, and an OPS of .491.
However, even with his retirement, Bae Seong-geun did not turn away from his teammates in the second group, who had spent more time in the meantime. The club explained, “Bae Seong-geun knows how hard the 2nd team players are, so he plans to donate 10 million won, although it is not a large amount for his colleagues and seniors and juniors.”