Former Lotte Pitcher Dies in Car Accident

During his career as an athlete, he was called the “unlucky pitcher.”

To the very end, until he died in a car accident, former Lotte pitcher Park Dong-hee (39, picture) lived up to his nickname.

Park died at 3:15 a.m. on March 22 while driving on a 4-lane street in his Dynasty car headed for Namcheon-dong in Suyeong-gu, Busan before colliding with a bus stop pole on the side of the road. The police suspect he dozed off at the wheel and are investigating the specifics of the accident.

Park, who retired from Samsung in 2002, had managed a Japanese-style pub in Haeundae, Busan.

A graduate of Busan High School, Park had been a promising amateur athlete with a fastball of 150 kilometers per hour, following in the footsteps of national pitcher Sun Dong-yeol (coach of the Samsung team). In 1985, during the Bonghwanggi high school games, his unprecedented ERA (earned run average) of 0 led his team to victory.

After being admitted into Korea University, he became a first-line pitcher for national team games. He got offers from the major league baseball club the Toronto Blue Jays, but settled for his hometown team Lotte, receiving 152 million won as a down payment, the highest figure at the time.

His life after joining his professional team, however, became rocky. On April 11, in his debut match against Samsung, he recorded 10 strikeouts, and the glory of becoming the MVP during the 1992 Korean series after 2 wins and 1 save was short-lived. Due to excessive pitching, he suffered from an elbow injury and his career spiraled downward until he was traded to Samsung in 1997. He failed to make a comeback, and in 2002 he retired. His career statistics were 59 wins, 50 losses, 58 saves, and an ERA of 3.68.

His wife Bae Jeong-nam (38) and two daughters survive him. A mourning and funeral procession will take place at the Joun Gang-an Hospital in Gwangan-dong, Busan, in Room No. 1 at 9:00 a.m. Call 051-610-9671 for more information.

uni@donga.com