Even now, many baseball fans think of Choi Dong-won and Sun Dong-yeol when they think of the best pitchers in Korean professional baseball history. In fact, in the results of expert and fan voting of “Legend 40” selected by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the league in 2022, Sun Dong-yeol was ranked first and Choi Dong-won was ranked second. The two pitchers who were not able to compete faced off three times. In April 1986, Sun Dong-yeol won a shutout 1-0 in the first starting match, and four months later, Choi Dong-won succeeded in avenging 2-0. The match between the two, who could not distinguish between superiority and inferiority, led to the third match on May 16, 1987.
Choi Dong-won, a Busan native, passed Kyungnam High School and Yonsei University, joined the Lotte Giants in 1983 and led Lotte to a championship with four wins in the Korean Series the following year. “Mudeungsan Bomber,” Sun Dong-yeol, who is five years younger than him, was born in Gwangju, graduated from Gwangju Jeil High School and Korea University, and joined the Haitai Tigers in 1985. Choi Dong-won used a curveball and Sun Dong-yeol used a slider as his main weapon. The competition between the two, who were the ace players of the two teams, drew public attention and attention as they included regional competitions in the Yeong-Honam area, school ties, and corporate competition among their confectionery rivals.
Haitai, who was tying 2-1 at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the day, dramatically tied the game in the ninth inning, bringing the game to square one. While pitching in full through the 15th inning, Choi threw 209 pitches and Sun Dong-yeol threw 232 pitches. It was more than double the number of pitches that a starting pitcher throws these days. After nearly five hours of struggle, the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
While holding Sun Dong-yeol’s hand, Choi joked, “Dong-yeol, should we throw a ship until the end?” and Sun responded with a smile, “Shall we give it a try?” With the end of the game, the two did not face-to-face, but ended with one win, one draw and one loss. Sun continued to make his name as the best pitcher and then moved to the Junichi Dragons of Japan to play as the closing pitcher. After retiring from active duty, he served as the manager of the Samsung Lions, Kia Tigers and the national team.
On the other hand, Choi was traded for Samsung’s Kim Si-jin as his club was mired in hatred while leading the formation of the players’ association in 1988. After ending his career in 1990, he served as the manager of the Hanwha Eagles second division and the KBO’s game management committee, and died in 2011 at the age of 53 after battling colon cancer. “I call him the rival, but he was my idol and role model that I respected,” said Sun Dong-yeol, who visited the funeral home. “That game is unforgettable. They both pitched more than 200 times so as not to lose against each other,” he recalled.
The dramatic competition between the two was also recreated through the 2011 movie “Perfect Game.” The great games of the two legends, who dominated an era, remain in the memory of baseball fans.
BY: 안전 토토사이트