Ex-KBO slugger Romak says feels sense of 'closure' in return to Korea
Former SSG Landers player Jamie Romak speaks during a press conference at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, Thursday. Courtesy of SSG Landers
INCHEON — When he retired from baseball in 2021 following five successful seasons in South Korea, Jamie Romak felt a bit rushed, with things coming to an end suddenly.
Now 40, the former All-Star slugger for the SSG Landers is back in South Korea this week for the first time since his retirement, and the trip has given him a chance to properly close the book on his career.
The Landers invited Romak and his family to their home stadium, Incheon SSG Landers Field, just west of Seoul, on Thursday for a pregame ceremony, including an autograph session for a select group of fans and the ceremonial first pitch.
"I felt like when I left, it was quite abrupt at the end. And I am feeling like a little bit of closure being here today," Romak said at a press conference before his pregame activities. "And it feels like things are moving a little bit slower but overall, it just feels great to be back."
The Canadian played for the Incheon-based Landers from 2017 to 2021, with the team called the SK Wyverns under different ownership during his first four campaigns. He launched 155 home runs and drove in 409 runs in 626 games. Those 155 dingers are the most by a foreign hitter in Wyverns/Landers history and also the fourth-highest total by a foreign player ever in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
He was also a popular teammate who quickly immersed himself in Korean clubhouse culture and became a huge fan favorite who earned the most votes for the 2019 KBO All-Star Game.
He spent about half an hour before his media availability catching up with his former teammates and team staff. Many of his ex-teammates have either retired or joined another club. Two franchise icons, third baseman Choi Jeong and pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun, are injured and were not at the ballpark Thursday.
Romak ended up chatting mostly with the few that played with him, such as outfielder Han Yoo-seom and player-coach Kim Sung-hyun.
"It is a very familiar place to be but also a very unfamiliar group of people here," Romak said with a smile.
Former SSG Landers player Jamie Romak / Korea Times file
Romak and his family arrived in South Korea on Sunday, and their days have been filled with dining on Korean cuisine, experiencing Korean culture — they took a Korean etiquette class Wednesday — and watching some KBO baseball. They are also shooting an episode for a television entertainment series following foreigners traveling through South Korea.
"We just have warm memories of how welcoming the fans were, and the little gifts and the support that we got," Romak said. "Over the course of this week, we have talked about that a lot, about just remembering all that good stuff."
Romak also said he lives near a sizable Korean community, and he can always go eat Korean food whenever he has a craving.
While he misses South Korea, Romak, who is coaching teenage prospects in his native Canada, said he does not miss playing baseball.
"Honestly, I got every ounce of baseball out of my system when I retired," he said. "I knew 100 percent I was done. So do I miss playing? Not at all. Do I miss the environment of being around the players? I get that with coaching right now back home, but that would be the only part of it that I missed."
Romak said he has kept in shape by playing squash three times a week while distancing himself from the playing aspect of baseball.
"I have swung a bat twice in five years. So if you put me in the batter's box right now, it would be really ugly," he quipped.
Instead, squash is Romak's new passion.
"Everything that I used to put into my preparation for baseball, now I do that for squash," he said. "Right now, I am limited by being a dad. There is part of me that one day, as I get older and I raise my family, would like to maybe do squash tournaments."
Romak helped the Wyverns win the 2018 Korean Series title, finishing second in the regular season with 43 home runs and then adding four more long balls in 11 postseason games.
He said he sometimes catches himself watching highlights of that 2018 postseason run. He added he is also proud of putting together a productive 2020 season during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he did not have his family with him in South Korea.
But he is the most proud of having his No. 27 worn by every foreign hitter for the Landers since his retirement. After two players donned it in 2022, All-Star outfielder Guillermo Heredia has had it since 2023. He and Romak met for the first time Thursday.
"There is a lot of meaning. It is hard to describe," Romak said of handing down his old number to Heredia. "That was pretty cool meeting him. He knew who I was. I think that in itself was pretty cool. And to see how well Heredia is doing and how good a person he is and how he is interacting with the players, that is pretty cool."