Doosan Bears catcher Park Yoo-yeon, who was caught driving under the influence of alcohol and failed to report it to the club, faced irreparable consequences.
The Doosan Bears decided that they could no longer stay with the errant player and made the sobering decision to release him.
“The Doosan Bears decided to release catcher Park Yoo-yeon after holding a club disciplinary committee on the 13th.
It was a preemptive move by Doosan.
While the Korean Baseball Organization’s (KBO) punishment committee has yet to meet, Doosan was quick to act, eventually pulling out the biggest punishment a player can face: release.
Park Yoo-yeon was caught driving under the influence in September.
A graduate of Gwangju Hwajeongcho-Dongdongjung-Dongdonggo, Park was selected by the Bears in the sixth round, 60th overall, in the 2017 second round of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) draft.
In her first year with the organization, Park appeared in three games in 2017, recording one hit and two strikeouts.
In late June of that year, Park was called up to the first team when starting catcher Yang Ji Hyun was injured, and she took advantage of the opportunity.
Her first hit came in the ninth inning against Daejeon Hanwha on July 1.
Park made the first team roster for the 2018 season, but did not get a chance to play.
After the season, she applied to join the commercial team, but did not make the final cut.
In the 2019 season, she appeared in two games and went hitless.
Although he didn’t make a mark on the first team, the catcher has been a consistent performer in the Futures League for three years.
In 2017, he appeared in 52 Futures League games, batting .243 (17-for-70) with four home runs, six doubles, 13 RBI, eight runs scored, a .500 on-base percentage, and a .321 slugging percentage.
In 2018, he hit .305 (29-for-95) with three home runs, 12 doubles, one triple, 21 RBI, 19 runs scored, three doubles, 19 walks, 13 strikeouts, a .547 on-base percentage and a .422 slugging percentage in 43 games.
He followed that up in 2019 by batting .290 (29-for-100) with three home runs, three doubles, 13 RBI, 11 walks, 20 strikeouts, a .410 on-base percentage and a .372 slugging percentage in 51 games before entering active duty to fulfill his national defense obligations. 바카라사이트
After being discharged from the military, Park joined the Futures League during the 2021 season and batted .115 (3-for-26) in 14 games.
Then, in 2022, Park began to make occasional appearances with the first team again. In 13 games in 2022, she batted .235 (17-for-4) with two RBIs, one walk, and five strikeouts.
But he spent much more time in the Futures League, where he played a career-high 61 games that year, batting .235 (179-for-42) with six home runs, 10 doubles, 25 RBI, 17 runs scored, 17 doubles, 42 walks, a .391 on-base percentage and a .303 slugging percentage.
Still, he showed promise in the Futures League, hitting home runs consistently.
When Doosan re-signed Yang for the 2023 season, Park competed with the likes of Jang Seung-hyun and Ahn Seung-han for the backup catcher job, but she didn’t get much of an opportunity right away.
In 42 games in the Futures League this year, he batted .234 (30-for-128) with seven home runs, six doubles, 20 RBI, 22 runs scored, 21 walks, 23 strikeouts, a .431 on-base percentage, and a .342 slugging percentage, while not committing a single error.
However, a DUI arrest in late September would soon change his life forever.
Park was placed on the disabled list in early September and had been on the rehabilitation list since being removed from the first team roster, until he was caught driving under the influence in late September.
According to Doosan officials, Park got behind the wheel the morning after drinking and drove off, only to be caught in a police sobriety checkpoint.
Her blood alcohol level was high enough to warrant a 100-day license suspension.
Park was actually a professional baseball player for the Doosan Bears.
She should have immediately informed the team of her DUI arrest, but instead, she hid it from the team.
The situation spiraled out of control when Doosan’s office recently received a report about Park’s DUI.
Doosan immediately checked the facts and interviewed Park Yoo-yeon.
At the same time, a report was filed with the KBO’s Clean Baseball Center.
Doosan did the best they could after interviewing Park, and in the end, they “decided to release her according to the bylaws.”
In recent years, the baseball world has taken a zero-tolerance approach to drunk driving.
What’s more, there was a very similar case prior to Park’s DUI that he overlooked.
This is the case of Bae Young-bin (23), an infielder for the Lotte Giants.
On March 16, Lotte announced that its internal disciplinary committee had decided to suspend Bae Young-bin for failing to self-report after being caught driving under the influence.
Lotte was also adamant. “We recognized the criminal offense of drunk driving and the concealment that he did not self-report as a serious matter,” a Lotte official said, explaining the decision.
Bae Young-bin called for a ride at 1 a.m. after drinking with friends in Seoul in late October.
Thinking it would be difficult for the driver to find him in an alley, he drove 300 meters to the side of the road and was caught in a police sobriety checkpoint.
Bae should have reported the incident to Lotte immediately, but he did not.
Eventually, the club found out about the drunk driving arrest and reported it to the KBO Clean Baseball Center after verification.
With pitcher Seo Jun-won, 23, having committed a crime against minors earlier this year, Lotte was even more sensitive to lies, and imposed the highest level of discipline: release.
There is now a social climate in which drunk driving is no longer acceptable for professional athletes.
KBO regulations impose sanctions of a 70-game suspension, a one-year disqualification in the case of a license suspension, a five-year disqualification in the case of a second DUI, and a permanent disqualification in the case of three or more DUIs.
Bae Young-bin, who had his license revoked, will not be able to play in the 2024 season because he received a one-year disqualification from the KBO.
His life is in danger.
If other clubs no longer accept him, he will be forced to retire.
Instead, Park received a license suspension, a lesser punishment than Bae Young-bin.
Nevertheless, Doosan demonstrated a harsh new punishment by sending her home without carrying her.
Lotte did the same.
Both Park Yoo-yeon and Bae Young-bin were viewed as future first-team resources, so the impact is even greater.
Their baseball careers were ruined by a single choice, a drunk driving offense and a cover-up.