Hanwha Eagles head coach Kim Kyung-moon has reached the 900-win milestone after a series of twists and turns.
Hanwha won 6-1 against the Doosan Bears on Nov. 11 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.
Kim became the sixth coach in history to reach 900 career wins.
The 900th victory was a storied one. After winning 896 of his 1,700 games, it took him about six years to reach the milestone.
He took charge of Doosan in 2004 and won 512 games (432 W, 16 D) in 960 regular-season matches until June 2011. In August 2011, he took over as the head coach of 'newcomer' NC Dinos, and after breaking into the first team in 2013, he added 384 points (324 W, 14 D) in 740 matches until June 2018.
Kim's last win as head coach of the NC Dinos came on May 31, 2018, against Hanwha in Daejeon. It took him 2203 days to reach 900 wins with four more victories.
On his first day in charge of Hanwha, Kim turned back the victory clock with a win over KT Wiz in Suwon on April 4 and quickly reached 899 wins with three straight victories. However, after two losses in a three-game series against NC at home, the team failed to reach the 'nine' mark as they drew the final game.
He finally reached 900 wins against Dusan, where he 안전놀이터 started his career as a player and manager. Starter Jaime Barria pitched six innings of one-run ball, while the bats came alive and scored six runs.
After the match, Hanwha coach Kim Kyung-moon said, “The players were under a lot of pressure, but I wanted them to do well in the first match of the week. Regardless of my record today, I am grateful to the players and fans for winning the first game today."
Kim has been on the short list of managerial candidates since he stepped down as NC manager in 2018, but he was unable to avoid a six-year hiatus. Just as he was closing in on the idea of managing the KBO League, Hanwha reached out. "The club made the decision for me to come to the field. When I wasn't thinking about 900 wins, Hanwha believed in me and called me, so I'm grateful that I was able to win. I also played against Doosan, and it was my first time coaching for Doosan. Thanks to Doosan's faith in me, I was able to get a foothold and coach until now. I'm grateful to the players. The staff, the fans, there are many people to thank. I can't do it alone,” he said, expressing his gratitude.
Kim, who has been called a “white knight,” learned the value of victory once again after failing to secure a win in a three-game home stand.
"When you win three games in a row and then lose back-to-back at home and draw the next day, it's very hard. Sometimes one win is easy, but I learned that one win is very valuable. I'm proud and happy for my players because they worked hard and won the game without a foreign player (Peraza)."
The 900-win milestone is the sixth in history, but instead of celebrating, Kim is ready for what's next. "Winning comes naturally when you coach for a long time. I'm not alone, and there are many people who are grateful. Ryu Hyun-jin is pitching tomorrow, so I think we should quickly forget about it and prepare for that game,” Kim said, emphasizing, ‘We will work hard one game at a time so that we can get closer to the fifth-place team.'
