You said you'd stay with me until the end…FA Application → Best friend who left for 4 billion, "I think you'll be very lonely, but I respect your choice of friends."

You said you'd stay with me until the end…FA Application → Best friend who left for 4 billion, "I think you'll be very lonely, but I respect your choice of friends."

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Heo Kyung-min, who recently chose to transfer to KT Wiz after offering to stay with Doosan Bears in the professional baseball league, could have been disappointed by his best friend's choice, but Jung Soo-bin sincerely cheered for Heo Kyung-min's new baseball life.안전놀이터

Jung Soo-bin (Doosan Bears), Huh Kyung-min (KT Wiz), and Park Gun-woo (NC Dinos) are the same age born in 1990, and joined Doosan side by side in 2009 and have been in the same team for more than 10 years. They were all different from school to designation until their debut, but they relied on each other to form the so-called "90 Trio," and they grew from a baby bear to a core power of the team, leading them to advance to the Korean Series for the first seven consecutive years in KBO in 2021.

The 90 trio, which seemed to be forever, faced its first dismantling crisis after the 2020 season, with Jung Soo-bin and Heo Kyung-min gaining FA qualifications side by side. Fortunately, Heo Kyung-min first confirmed his stay and then succeeded in persuading Jung Soo-bin to extend his companion, but Park Gun-woo, who became an FA a year later, was forced to disband as he headed to NC for a six-year total of 10 billion won in December 2021.

And as of Nov. 28, 2024, Jung was left alone. Even Huh Kyung-min, who had 90 duo, left Doosan on the 8th by signing a four-year, four-billion-won free agent contract with KT. After the 2024 season, Heo gave up his three-year, two-billion-won player option and exercised his second free agent right. He also negotiated a new free agent contract with his original team Doosan to keep his promise that he would stay in Doosan, but his choice was his first ever transfer.

Jung Soo-bin, who received the center fielder's defense award at the KBO awards ceremony on the 26th, replied with a smile, "It's a shame. I think I'll be very lonely from next year. I'm an outcast in the team right now, but I think I'll be more outcast."

"I am very close to Kyungmin. He was the first one to discuss with me during the FA negotiations because he was my friend since I was young," he said. "It's unfortunate that he will be transferred, but it is also Kyungmin's choice. Of course, he can make that choice because he is a professional. I respect Kyungmin."

After signing his first FA contract with Doosan in December 2020, Heo Kyung-min contacted Jung Soo-bin, who was an uncontracted FA, and earnestly asked him to stay at Doosan. At the time, Jung Soo-bin said, "[He]Kyung-min contacted me to the point that he was really bothered. I kept saying let's stay together until the end," adding, "I imagined being with Kyung-min until the end. Of course, I thought I could grow and do better even after going to Hanwha, but I still chose to go stable with Kyung-min for a long time."

This time, Jung Soo-bin tried to persuade Heo Kyung-min, but the timing was late. "After Kyung-min signed a contract in 2020, he told me that he wanted me to do it with him, and I also stayed at Doosan because I liked to be with Kyung-min," Jung Soo-bin said. "This time, I tried to persuade him to stay, but the situation was already much better. It was inevitable."

Although his best friend's transfer could have been disappointing, Jung Soo-bin wished Huh Kyung-min to continue his successful career at KT. He said, "I have been close to Kyung-min since high school. Also, after coming to the professional league and living with him for more than 16 years in one team, I heard a lot about him and made a lot of memories," and added, "Of course, I don't want to transfer, but I think it's a new opportunity for Kyung-min. I will also meet him when the season opens anyway, and I will continue to meet him even after I quit baseball. I hope Kyung-min will always work hard as he does now even when he goes to KT."