Korea Baseball Futures League side Goyang Wonders declared Thursday that the team has been disbanded after its "adventurous operations" for the past three seasons as the nation's first and only independent baseball club, according to Nam Hyun-woo of the KOREA TIMES. Without being affiliated to any leagues, it has operated since Dec. '11 "with the aim of offering a second chance to baseball players who were undrafted or released from professional teams and helped them play again in the professional leagues." The Wonders said in a statement, "Despite meaningful achievements over the past three years, we have continuously realized that we have different stances on the operation of our club from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). ... Now, we decided to stop our journey." The club "started to draw keen attention immediately" for the "bold investment" by owner Hur Min, CEO of We Make Price, a social commerce company, and the appointment of coach Kim Sung-keun, "one of the most admired baseball coaches in Korea." As there is no independent league in the country, the Wonders "have played unofficial friendly games with the teams of the Futures League, a second-tier division of the KBO." The KBO "also runs the top Korean baseball league." This year, the Wonders "recorded 43 wins, 12 draws and 25 losses." Also since '12, they "have sent 23 players to professional baseball clubs registered to the top league." Kim: "There must be an end, but it came earlier than expected." Financial concerns "also seem to be a reason behind the breakup." Hur, "well known as a sport enthusiast," reportedly spent more than 3B won ($2.9M) to run the club every season -- mostly from his own pocket" (KOREA TIMES, 9/11).
