When Hanhwa sacked manager Carlos Subero (51) on the 11th, the foreign coaches who came with him also packed their bags. José Rosado (49), pitching coach, and Darrell Kennedy (54), operations/baseball coach, who had been by Subero’s side for three years, also calmly accepted the sudden breakup and left the team.
On the 12th, coach Kennedy left a farewell message to Hanwha fans, saying ‘Hanwha Eagles fans, thank you very much for your support over the past two years’ in Korean through his SNS.
Coach Kennedy said, ‘Hanwha fans have always supported the Hanwha Eagles, regardless of the outcome of the game. thank you I will miss you,’ he said, ‘I love Korea! See you again!’
Coach Kennedy, who has 21 years of experience as an American minor league coach, came to Hanwha as head coach in 2021 at the request of coach Subero. However, on April 7 of that year, he suffered the pain of losing his mother during the season. At the time, there was a two-week quarantine period upon entry due to the Corona 19 pandemic, and after much consideration, Coach Kennedy did not go to the United States and remained in Korea. Coach Kennedy showed his extraordinary work spirit, saying, “It was very difficult thinking about his mother, but considering the time he had to come and go, he decided to remain on the team.”
It wasn’t an easy decision given American family culture, and Coach Kennedy said goodbye to his mother with an online funeral. In addition to Hanwha, the coaching staff of the other nine KBO league clubs collected condolence money and delivered it to Coach Kennedy to comfort him. Coach Kennedy was also very moved by the warm Korean culture. Coach Kennedy’s wife is also a fan of Korean dramas and was very satisfied with his life in Korea.
Last year, Coach Kennedy led the first spring camp in Geoje as Subero’s passport delivery was delayed due to local circumstances in Venezuela, his home country. He also moved from head coach to operations and base coach and moved to third base. When I was a minor league coach, I often doubled as the third base coach, but I requested a job transfer to communicate more deeply with the players and save their long term.
Coach Kennedy, who ordered the players to run aggressively to go one more base, turned and stopped runners without making a big mistake as a third base coach until this year. In the 8th inning against Doosan in Daejeon on the 19th of last month먹튀검증, during center fielder sacrifice fly by Noh Soo-gwang with one out and bases loaded, Sang-bin Yoo, the second base runner, passed the third base and came home after seeing the opponent’s defensive movement, which was difficult to follow up. 8th sacrifice fly in KBO League history with 2 RBIs. Coach Subero also praised, saying, “Coach Kennedy was able to score an extra point with his quick judgment.”
On the other hand, on the 12th, the day after the hardship, coach Subero was packing up in the director’s office at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon. On the 13th at 2:30 pm on the 13th, he left for Orlando, Florida, USA via Incheon International Airport (flight KE0017) with his wife, who had been living together in Korea.