‘Rebuild the pride of the dynasty that collapsed with the energy of Olympic medals.’
Doosan, led by head coach Lee Seung-yeop, entered Australia to prepare for the farming season. The camp is located in Blacktown, a 30-minute drive from Sydney, the tourist city of Australia. On the 31st (Korean time), Doosan first visited the Blacktown Baseball Center (Blacktown Stadium) to hold the spring camp.
The stadium was busy welcoming guests. The field managers were busy repairing the access road damaged by the heavy rain the previous day and servicing the offices, restaurants, and dugouts in the stadium. It rained in the morning on this day, but in the afternoon, a cold sky unique to a clean area appeared. Although the humidity was slightly high, the clear weather combined with the grass of the Blacktown Stadium created an exotic landscape.
Blacktown Stadium, which Doosan will use for 33 days from February 1, is the home stadium of the Australian professional baseball Sydney Bluesox. The Blue Sox emblem is displayed throughout the stadium, and there are spectator seats that can accommodate 3,000 people. In terms of the condition of the ground, it boasted a level of comfort comparable to Changwon NC Park and Gwangju-KIA Champions Field, which are considered the most up-to-date stadiums in the KBO League.
There are two more stadiums behind the outfield of the main stadium, and Doosan utilizes all three. A tent was set up to make a bullpen for three or four people to pitch at the same time, and two simple indoor batting training ranges where four people could hit at the same time could be seen inside the wire netting.
Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop looked back and said, “Blacktown is the place where I trained without rest when I became the first home run king, and it was the place where I used it as the second stadium during the Sydney Olympics to play.” In the bronze medal match at the Sydney Olympics, Lee did not miss an opportunity to go 2nd and 3rd base in the 8th inning against Japan and gave Korea its first ever Olympic baseball medal with a come-from-behind finish with 2 RBIs and a double. Coach Lee said, “The field where the bronze medal match was held is now gone. I remember playing with the Netherlands and South Africa at the second stadium at the time.”
In fact, when you enter the central entrance of Blacktown Stadium, you can feel the traces of Olympic heroes. The bronze plates of Olympic medalists are engraved in the order of the podium on the pillars supporting structures such as the headquarters and spectator seats. Head coach Tommy Lasorda has the names of the United States leading the gold medal, Cuba winning the silver medal on the left, and the Korean team winning the bronze medal on the right.
Head coach Lee Seung-yeop and head coach Kim Han-soo were also visible, and the names of all the players were engraved, including Kim Ki-tae (KT 2nd team coach) Park Gyeong-wan (LG Battery coach) Park Jin-man (Samsung head coach) Lee Byeong-gyu (Samsung head coach). Interestingly, there is no coaching staff including the head coach. Actual Olympic medals are awarded only to athletes. Even 23 years later, Australia’s efforts to continue the so-called Olympic legacy seemed exceptional. It is the place where the first Olympics of the 21st century were held, so it has no choice but to be meaningful. 메이저놀이터
Korea, which was considered weak in nature, surprised the world by uniting the entire team as one. ‘Hitter Lee Seung-yeop’, who stood at the center of it, took the Doosan baton and returned to this place after 23 years. “I didn’t set a specific goal of ranking, but I will bring the players together and play baseball that can impress the fans,” said coach Lee, who expressed his aspirations by saying, “The evaluation of being weak is not suitable for Doosan.”
You have to be prepared to make your aspirations a reality. Preparation is completed with sweet training. Doosan raises the banner of rebuilding the dynasty and opens the gates of hell.