Kim In-sik throws first pitch before Jamsil’s final regular-season game

Kim In-sik threw the ceremonial first pitch at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on October 12 before the ground’s final regular-season game. The former Doosan Bears manager’s return marked the end of regular-season play at a stadium slated for demolition after 2026; Lotte Giants beat Doosan 7-4 that evening.

The ceremony brought Kim, 79, back to the field where he led the Bears to two Korean Series titles. He told the sellout crowd of 23,750, ‘It feels great to be back at Jamsil,’ and said the club’s 2001 championship had stayed with him for a long time. The occasion was a farewell to regular-season baseball at Jamsil, though Doosan still had postseason games ahead.

Why Kim In-sik returned to Jamsil

Kim managed the Bears to Korean Series titles in 1995 and 2001 after the club became based in Seoul. According to Yonhap, he is one of four managers in KBO history to have managed more than 2,000 games. His 978 wins rank fourth among the league’s managers. Those achievements made him a figure closely associated with the team’s years at Jamsil.

Current Doosan manager Kim Won-hyong and catcher Yang Eui-ji joined Kim on the field. So did Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyoung, who played for Kim In-sik on the Bears’ 1995 championship team. The gathering connected the stadium’s closing regular-season game with players and managers from different periods of the club’s history.

Lotte’s win and Victor Reyes’ hits record

The Giants won the game 7-4. Lotte All-Star Victor Reyes went 4-for-5 with a home run and ended the KBO season with 211 hits. That total surpassed his previous record of 202 and gave the final regular-season game at Jamsil a milestone beyond the stadium farewell.

Reyes finished three hits ahead of KT Wiz player Choi Won-jun. Choi had reached 203 hits the previous Wednesday and added three hits on Monday to finish with 208. The two totals put Reyes’ final-game performance in context: his four hits took him past a challenger who had already exceeded Reyes’ earlier mark.

The result changed Lotte’s final position in the standings. The Giants entered the game eighth with a 63-77-3 record; the win moved them to seventh, ahead of the NC Dinos. Doosan finished at 73-66-5. The Bears’ fifth-place finish was already settled before the game, so its result did not change their postseason seed.

Doosan used 11 pitchers, with none working more than one inning. Yonhap reported that the Bears were assessing bullpen arms before the postseason. That use of the pitching staff reflected the club’s next competitive concern even as the game served as the stadium’s regular-season send-off.

What is planned for Jamsil’s two home teams

Jamsil Baseball Stadium opened in 1982. The Bears began their KBO history in Daejeon that year and moved to Jamsil in 1985. The stadium is slated for demolition after the 2026 season to make way for a new dome, ending a long period in which it has been Doosan’s home ground.

Seoul Metropolitan Government’s July 2024 plan says the Bears and LG Twins would use nearby Jamsil Main Stadium as a temporary home for five seasons, from 2027 through 2031, while construction proceeds. The plan calls for converting the main stadium’s field for professional baseball and initially providing about 18,000 seats.

The city said capacity above 30,000 could be possible for major games and postseason play if monitoring confirms spectator safety. It also said the teams, the KBO and the city would coordinate safety measures and spectator access. Its plan identifies separate east and west pedestrian routes into the temporary venue.

Those venue details come from Seoul’s 2024 announcement. The cited reports do not establish whether the construction schedule or temporary-stadium arrangements have since changed, and they give no specific demolition start date or completion date for the dome. For now, the confirmed October 12 milestone is Jamsil’s final regular-season game, followed by Doosan’s scheduled postseason campaign.