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`Manager Sun Dong-Ryul`….. When Does the Day Come?

Posted November. 29, 2001 09:17,   

Sun Dong-Ryul (38) has occupied the grave position in the Korean professional baseball. It is not until he left to Japan that the free agent system was introduced in the domestic league. As soon as he returned, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) newly established a position of `the publicity member`, which has never been before.

In addition to his excellent competency called as the `national treasury`, Sun has appealed to peoples with generous mind and warm heart embracing even the reports who were fiercely competing for coverage activities surrounding him.

If Sun wants to become a manager of a certain team, some combustion must be occurred among the teams. Sun has worked for the neutral zone, KBO, for two years and has taken charge of pitcher instructor for several teams in order to evade such a wavelength.

But if the moon waxes, it starts to wane. Sun could not hide his compulsive idea that he should return to the ground as a manager some day. He avowed in the beginning of this year that he would go to any team next year.

However, nothing has been said about his future course as a manager thus far. During staying in Japan for the season`s last meeting of his former team Junichi Dragons, Sun declared that he would make a sacrifice of himself for the development of the Korean baseball as a publicity member of the KBO next year.

Sun said ostensibly that he would stay in current position because he promised KBO President Park Yong-Oh to work with him until the end of his office term (March 2002). But the inside story seems more complicated. Sun Dong-Ryul showed his potential as a manager last winter. However, as eight teams completed to set the coaching staffs earlier than he expected, he seemed to decide that it would be too soon for him to make an impressive debut.

Anyhow, Sun now recovered his composure, extinguishing a variety of rumors such as LG`s manager in September, and Samsung`s pitching coach.

Sun threw a 135-km fast ball in the old star all-star game in July, and he still retains a lingering desire for returning as a player, saying that he could win 10 start wins or 20 saves in the professional league.

When can he stand on the ground as a manager?



Hwan-Soo Zang zangpabo@donga.com