"Thank you for taking care of my kids. I will win KS"…Alcantara Dreaming of the Second Nippert, Farewell to the Squad
"Thank you for taking care of my kids. I will win KS"…Alcantara Dreaming of the Second Nippert, Farewell to the Squad
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"I was thankful that I got along well with my family, especially the kids, besides me. I hope you win the Korean Series."
Raul Alcantara (32), who dreamed of becoming a long-lived foreign pitcher beyond Dustin Nippert at the Doosan Bears, said goodbye to the team on the 4th. Doosan asked KBO to announce waivers for Alcantara before the game against Lotte Giants in Jamsil on the 4th and announced that it signed new foreign pitcher Jordan Balazovic (26) for a total of $250,000.
Doosan began to look for Alcantara's replacement in May, but the announcement of the breakup was made urgently. It concluded its contract with Balazovic in the U.S. early on the 4th, and at 2 p.m., Alcantara announced his release as soon as he went to work. Doosan officially announced its breakup with Alcantara at 2:30 p.m., and Alcantara calmly accepted the sudden breakup, greeted the team in the locker room, packed up and left.
Alcantara expressed her sincere gratitude to the players at the last greeting. "Thank you for everything. I was so grateful that I got along well with my family, especially my kids. I hope they win the Korean Series." Alcantara's second son Roman (7) and third son Victor (5) cheered for their father every day when he took the mound at a home game in Jamsil, and they came to the locker room after the game to get along with the players.
Alcantara renewed his contract with Doosan for a total of $1.5 million (about 2 billion won) ahead of this season and hoped to become a long-time foreign pitcher of Doosan that can surpass Nippert when he joined the Australian spring camp. Nippert holds the record for the longest-tenured foreign player in the KBO League. Nippert played for eight years from 2011 to 2018. He played for Doosan for seven years from 2011 to 2017, remaining the longest-tenured foreign player in the club's history, and moved to KT Wiz in 2018 to play for another season, winning the longest-tenured foreign player title in the league. Nippert took off his uniform with 214 games, 102 wins (51 losses), 1291 ⅓ innings, 1082 strikeouts, and an ERA of 3.59.
Alcantara said at the time, "Thank you and honored you for giving me the opportunity to come back to Doosan once again. I want to be with Doosan for as long as possible. I'm not sure if I can play for seven years, but I'm thinking about more than that if my body holds out and the team needs me."
Alcantara, however, has had difficulties completing this season. Since he was away for more than a month in April due to a sprained elbow, his ball power has deteriorated further. He only had two wins and two losses, 64 ⅓ innings, 34 strikeouts and an ERA of 4.76 in 12 games. He rose to the top of the league by winning 20 games in 2020 and was responsible for 192 innings last year, but he was nowhere to be seen.
A Doosan official said, "The club decided that it needs a strong first starter to produce a better outcome than advancing to the postseason. Rather than waiting for Alcantara to rebound, we wanted to strengthen our capabilities by recruiting new foreign pitchers."
Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop said, "I had no choice but to make such a decision due to the circumstances of the team. I fully understood him, and I was grateful for his talent who gave me so many things during the past year and a half. I told him to understand that I was sorry for not being able to help him anymore."
"I prepared for Alcantara as she got injured for a long time and it took longer to recover," he said. "I thought I might have to prepare one day, and when I couldn't recover my ball power after returning, I started to feel that way more. I didn't make the decision after watching the game just yesterday (3rd). Even before that, I judged that Alcantara's ball hit me and the opponent didn't have as much difficulty as before, but when they swung their own swing, I felt that their power declined. Since then, I have prepared little by little."
The players, who were with Alcantara for the third season, expressed regret that they let go of their close friends. Captain Yang Seok-hwan said, "Since we played for Doosan for quite a long time, we were also very affectionate. It's a shame that we ended the game like this. As I mentioned to Alcantara earlier, I saw them growing up together and told her that I wish only good things happen to them and their families. I hope they get along well there."
"Alcantara told me to go and win the Korean Series. It would have been nice to be together until the end, but I hope the players will receive that kind of heart from Alcantara and that's what I hope," he stressed.
Catcher Yang Eui-ji, who led Alcantara's last appearance against Lotte in Jamsil on the 3rd, said, "I had good memories, but I'm a little more sorry that Alcantara couldn't help me a lot when it was difficult. Still, I hope to treat the pain well and see you soon. We talked about meeting often on social media," and promised to meet again. 노래방알바
Third baseman Huh Kyung-min, who firmly followed Alcantara's footsteps, said, "I have experienced many separations, but I think they are always sad. I was sick this year and it was not good, but I have seen him try to do well. I don't know whether I will go to the U.S. to play baseball or not, but I will try to support my life going forward. We are brothers again. I think that's why we got along well. I don't know when we will meet again, but he is a player I want to meet again someday."
Pitcher Hong Geon-hee was even more saddened by the breakup with her friend who was the same age. "They were better friends because they were the same age as each other. As he is a proven player, there must have been a lot of expectations and personal mental burden as an ace. I started with an injury and started with a bad performance, so I was left like this, but as we have been together for several years, I heard a lot that he is very bright and kind. I am very sad to go, and I think I will miss him," he said.
"The professional baseball game is very cold and I feel like I can't help it. I will always cheer for Alcantara no matter where she plays baseball in the U.S., even from a distance. We have decided to cheer for each other. I hope she can recover from her injury quickly and throw a great pitching. I want to say that she did a great job."