Doosan Bears’ Newest Acquisition, Ichiroโ Tamura, Linked to ‘KBO Miracle Myth’ Ahn Kwon-soo
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – december 5, 2023 – Doosanโข Bears’ recently signed Asia Quarter player, Ichiro Tamura, expressed his eagernessโ to immerse himself in Koreanโ culture and baseball, revealing a surprising โฃconnection to former Doosan Bears player Ahn Kwon-soo. Tamura, speaking โขto reporters, highlighted his long-held respect for the strengthโค of Korean baseball, stating, “Ever since I was young, I felt it was โJapan’s biggest rival. The powerful baseball was quite impressive.”
When asked if he knew any Korean โbaseball players, Tamura paused before disclosing, “My brother-in-law’s friend from elementary and middle school is Ahn Kwon-soo. I heard he played baseball at Doosan.”
Ahn Kwon-soo,drafted 99th overall in the โฃ10th round of the 2020โค second rookie draft,became aโข celebrated figure during his four seasons in the KBO. โฃDespite being a late-round pick,โข he achieved a .278 batting average (163 hits in 586 at-bats) with 2 home runs, 13 doubles, 4 triples, 56 RBI, 112 runs, and 24โข stolen bases (with 12 failed attempts). He also โrecorded 61 walks,88 strikeouts,a .324 slugging percentage,andโ a.346 on-base percentage. His successโค story, defying expectations as the 99th pick, has been dubbed a “miracle myth” by Koreanโ baseball fans. He played for โฃDoosan until the 2022 season โคbefore transferring โฃto lotte in 2023,ultimately leaving Koreaโ at the end of thatโ year.
Tamura conveyed his positive initial experienceโ with the Doosan association, notingโข the โwelcoming atmosphere at the Miyazakiโข campโ in Japan. “It didn’t feel like I was here for โthe first time, but rather โฃlike I’d been playing baseballโ here all along,” he โฃsaid. He also expressed excitement about joining โa team he believes is already strong, โadding with a smile, “I don’t think we will โขlose next year if we โคhave theโข best โค10th hitter. Should I โฃsay that I will injectโข more energy into such โa strong โteam.I will try to contribute (to the team’s victory) and help the teamโข move up. Please support me.”
Tamura also shared his admiration for current KBO players, specifically mentioning Kwak Bin and his powerfulโ fastball. He โrevealed โขhis shared interest in Japanese animation with โฃDoosanโข pitchers,referencing the baseball cartoon Major โค from his childhood,as well as more recentโค series Kingdom andโค Demon Slayer.