Hanwha Eagles Manager Kim Kyung-moon, Five-Time Runner-Up, to Step Down

Professional baseball team Hanwha Eagles Manager Kim Kyung-moon, 67, is stepping down at the end of this season.

Manager Kim personally expressed his intention to resign ahead of the final game of the season, which is a home match against the NC Dinos held at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark on October 10.

In June 2024, when the team fell into a slump, Hanwha signed Manager Kim to a three-year contract worth a total of 2 billion won.

In his first year in office, Manager Kim steadied the wobbling team, and in 2025, he led them to a second-place finish in the regular season and advanced to the Korean Series (KS).

However, this season, the team fell short of expectations due to a combination of struggles from foreign pitchers and instability among key relief pitchers.

As of October 9, they recorded 57 wins, 82 losses, and 4 draws in 143 games, with a winning percentage of 0.410, remaining in 9th place.

Manager Kim began his managerial career with the Doosan Bears in 2004 and served as the inaugural manager of the NC Dinos from 2011 to 2018.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he enjoyed the ultimate glory as a manager by leading the South Korean national baseball team to a historic gold medal with a 9-0 record.

However, on the professional baseball stage, he ultimately failed to fulfill his wish of winning the Korean Series.

Manager Kim finished as the runner-up in the Korean Series in 2005, 2007, and 2008 during his time with Doosan, and stumbled just short of the championship summit in 2016 while leading NC.

Last year, he also advanced to the Korean Series with Hanwha, but failed to win after losing to the LG Twins, leaving behind the bittersweet record of five career runner-up finishes.

On August 12 of last year, through a game against the Lotte Giants, Manager Kim became the third manager in professional baseball history to reach the milestone of 1,000 wins, following managers Kim Eung-yong (1,554 wins, 68 draws, 1,288 losses) and Kim Sung-keun (1,388 wins, 60 draws, 1,203 losses).

As of October 9, he has recorded 1,078 wins, 957 losses, and 39 draws in 2,074 regular-season professional baseball games as a manager.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.