Park Dong-won (34, LG Twins) started as the designated hitter and fifth batter in a home game against the NC Dinos at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 24th, scoring two hits (two homers) and three RBIs and two runs in four times at bat.메이저놀이터
Park Dong-won, who retired with a fly ball in his first at-bat, struck out in his second at-bat.
It was his third at bat. He hit a thrilling homer. In the top of the fourth inning with his team leading 8-2, he swung NC pitcher Choi Sung-young’s fastball over the left fence. Park Dong-won hit his sixth homer of this season.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, when the team was ahead 10-3, rookie Choi Woo-suk drove a fastball to the center and swung it over the fence once again. LG won the game 11-4.
Park Dong-won suffered a shock to his knee while sliding against Lotte in Busan on the 11th. As a result of the hospital examination, he was diagnosed with damage to the hip muscle in the back of his right knee, and eventually focused on treatment.
After returning to the game, Park strongly swung at the batter’s box. At the match against Hanwha in Daejeon on Sunday, Park had two hits and one RBI from four times at bat, and displayed his full condition with multiple home runs on the day.
After the game, Park Dong-won said, “I was in good condition before I went down. It was a shame that I went down. I left behind my regret because my body was in a situation that I couldn’t do, but they cared a lot about me. The coach also gave a lot of consideration, and the second-tier coach also attached a one-on-one coach. Coach Chung Ju-hyun helped me a lot. Coach Kim Jae-yul also put a lot of balls on the second-tier team so that I could hit well. I was able to achieve good results because the coach cared a lot about me.”
Regarding the home run situation, he said, “The first homerun was a fly ball by Austin, who sent a runner from second base to third base, which allowed me to hit a RBI single. Thank you Austin for letting me hit the homerun comfortably. I honestly thought I would not pass the second homer. I think I was lucky.”
Park Dong-won, who led the team to win the championship overall last year, had a bigger presence than expected. From Friday to Sunday when Park was absent, LG had only three wins and five losses in eight games.
Park Dong-won said, “I came to cheer a lot. I wish I could go out, but now I was thinking that other players could do better enough. (Huh) Do-hwan is a really good catcher, and (Kim) Beom-seok is a good catcher. First of all, I was thinking that I would be under a lot of stress because the team was not moving well. So I was rooting for him a lot in my heart. I have a group chat room to analyze the catcher’s power and left a message of support.”
He meant his heart more than words. “I thought a lot about what kind of advice would be helpful from a third party’s point of view, but I always said, ‘Let’s cheer up’ and ‘You can do it well,’ so I left those words as I thought they were the best words. I also said, ‘You’re going through a lot.'”
LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, “I will play as a designated hitter until the end of the week and will play as a catcher next week. If there is an emergency, I will be able to watch the catcher for about an inning later.”
Park has yet to be confident about playing as a catcher. “I haven’t been able to practice as a defensive player. He took good care of me in the training part. If I get injured again, I have to rest longer, so they treat me well every day. I’m just working hard on my catch ball and preparing for it. I think more time will pass for now,” he said.