By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
The Hyundai Unicorns are going, going and gone. The Suwon-based baseball team, which won four Korean Series championships in just 12 years of existence, beat the Hanhwa Eagles 2-0 Friday in their last game in Unicorn jerseys, as the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) continued its talks with the STX Group over a possible takeover.
The win against the Eagles allowed the Unicorns to finish the season in a respectable sixth-place, quite an achievement for players who had to endure a specter of uncertainty throughout the season, let alone injuries and an overwhelmed pitching squad.
``I did not think too much about the end of the Hyundai Unicorns, until I saw the fans spilling out to the grounds to commemorate the franchise's last game. We have a smaller fan-base in Suwon than what we had in Incheon, but at least I know who is saying what in the stands, '' said an emotional Unicorns manager Kim Si-jin.
``At the start of the season, I told my players to play hard and be attentive to the fans and sign every autograph, as that's what a professional player should do. And we did just that,'' said Kim.
It remains to be seen what corporate logo the players will be carrying on their chests next April, as the league continues to wheel and deal with what now seems the team's only potential suitor.
Whether STX becomes the next owner of the ex-Unicorns or not, the new ownership is not likely to spend lavishly to buy its way back to contention, the way Hyundai did when taking over the team in 1996.
This means that the club, abundant with overpriced veterans with declining skills but short on young talent, could be ripe for an overhaul that would test the patience of nostalgic Hyundai fans.
Despite being one of baseball's youngest and most proudest franchises, the Unicorns have not had a foot in the door in the past few seasons.
After enjoying years of success behind one of the league's top payrolls, the Unicorns began to lose its financial edge in 2001 when the Hyundai empire began to crumble with the death of founder Jung Ju-young as his heirs began an ugly fight for a larger piece of the pie.
The deciding blow was the bankruptcy of Hyundai's semiconductor unit, Hynix, which had sponsored the baseball team, meaning that the Unicorns were no longer to enjoy its backing.
The financial troubles had the team moving from Incheon to Suwon for the 2002 season after failing to become baseball's third Seoul team.
The Unicorns lost its last prominent supporter within the Hyundai Group in 2003 when Hyundai Asan Chairman Chung Mong-hun, a lifelong baseball fan, was found dead in an apparent suicide.
His brother, Hyundai Automotive Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo, did not share the same enthusiasm in baseball and declared a halt to his company's 8-billion-won annual support to the baseball team starting this season.
Hyundai had tried to sell off the team ahead of the season to the National Agriculture Cooperative Foundation, or Nonghyup, but the deal fell through after the labor union of the agriculture body opposed it. In an effort to save the franchise, the KBO agreed to finance the team for this season.
It's certainly an unworthy finale for the Unicorns, which despite its young history, established themselves as Korean baseball's second-most successful team behind nine-time champions KIA Tigers. The team reached the championship series in its first season in 1996 and clinched the crown just two seasons later.
The Unicorns team that won it all in 2000 is considered among Korean baseball's greatest team ever, winning 91 games in the regular season and having three starters in its rotation who won over 18 games (Chung Min-tae, Lim Sun-dong, and Kim Soo-kyung).
Even through turmoil, the Unicorns showed resilience as they won two titles in a row in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. However, after failing to retain its best players from free agency in the past years, such as slugger Shim Chong-soo who had a 140-RBI season for the team in 2003, the Unicorns finally saw the air taken out of their sails.
When the team finally changes its colors, fans will be left to ponder various ``what ifs'' for a franchise that was on the brink of a dynasty but was never meant to be.
What if Park Jae-hong, who became the first Korean player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases while leading the team to the Korean Series in his 1996 rookie season, had managed to stay healthy and lived up to the hefty expectations?
What if the team had managed to squeeze out a little more from the glorified 2000 season team that never overcame the post-championship hangover and eventually forced the front office to conduct a complete overhaul?
What if the team had the money to build on its consecutive championships in the 2003-2004 seasons and retained their key free agents such as Shim and shortstop Park Jin-man?
Those questions will never be answered as the Unicorns are now destined for a harder struggle back to the top.