“Captain” Oh Ji-hwan, 33, who won the Korean Series (KS) Most Valuable Player (MVP) award after leading the LG Twins to their first title in 29 years, said he will give a Rolex watch left by the late former LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo to LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.
“I haven’t seen the Rolex watch yet,” Oh said in an official interview after the team won the KS title with a home victory over KT Wiz in Game 5 of the 2023 KBO Series at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Wednesday, “and I’m actually thinking about it a lot. The club said they would give the watch to the MVP, but it’s a burden to wear.”
“I think the watch is a relic of the previous chairman,” he said, “I will give it to Chairman Koo Kwang-mo first. I want the Rolex watch to be displayed for many people to see.”
Former LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, who passed away in 2018, bought the expensive Rolex watch, which cost about 80 million won at the time, in 1998 and gave it to the club, saying, “If you win, give it to KS MVP.”
The watch sat in a safe for a long time before finding its owner when LG won the KS this year.
In the five games of the KS, Oh led LG to the championship, going 19-for-6 with a .316 batting average, three home runs, and eight RBIs.
The series-clinching Game 3 was a highlight, as he hit a dramatic game-winning three-run homer with runners on second and third in the top of the ninth inning, trailing 5-7.
Oh was named MVP with overwhelming support (86% of the vote), receiving 83 out of 90 votes in the journalists’ poll.
“LG fans have been waiting a long time for this,” said Oh, “and I feel happy and emotional. I also remember a lot of seniors I played baseball with.”
When asked how he prepared for the KS, he said, “KT had a lot of pitchers with good fastballs, and there were no left-handed pitchers, so there was no pressure.” “Every time I stepped into the batter’s box, I aimed for the timing of my fastball, and I think my aggressive hitting led to good results,” he said.
“LG manager Yoon Kyung-yeop ordered aggressive baserunning from the beginning of the season, and I think this environment fostered a sense of challenge in the players,” he said, analyzing that it was the basis for the young players to play aggressively and without hesitation in KS.” 먹튀검증
