“There was that atmosphere even before the game. Everyone wanted to win so badly…Of course, other people talk like they’re in last place….”노래방알바
Park Soo-jong (Kium Heroes), who achieved his dream of becoming a professional baseball player after difficulties as a nurturing player, casually said what the public thinks about him/her. It is true. Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants) entered the Major League, and Ahn Woo-jin failed to join the public service after undergoing elbow surgery. All core pitching and hitting were missing, and six rookies entered the opening entry this year.
Players who had gathered for the “Last Dance” with Lee Jung-hoo last year were not very supportive and came in at the bottom of the list, but things have not changed much this year, too. Only 24 players attended the spring camp for the Futures League players, which took place in Arizona. The prevailing view was that Lee would take steps to reorganize his team by taking advantage of the nomination rights that he has collected through several trades recently. Though no one has openly said it, it naturally reminds me of a “Houston-style” tanking strategy.
However, players have different attitudes. Kiwoom won the game 8-3 against the LG Twins of the “2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League” at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Thursday, marking its first win in five games. The team also ranked eighth from the bottom.
Ha Young-min, who returned to the starting rotation after nine years, rendered LG’s “defending champion” lineup powerless by allowing no runs in five innings. Choi Joo-hwan, who transferred to the second draft, crushed LG starter Lim Chan-kyu with a double and two hits, while Lee Hyung-jong from LG also made two hits and one RBI from three times at bat. Kim had three RBIs with two timely hits.
Park’s performance as the center fielder as the first batter was also impressive. Park joined Kiwoom as an nurturing player in 2022 and was impressive last year when he recorded a batting average of 0.422 in 23 games in the first division. This year, he entered the first division entry from Friday, the second day of the season’s opening. In the game against LG on Tuesday, he recorded two hits in four times at bat, and continued his multi-hitters with two hits in five times at bat on Tuesday.
With runners on the first and second bases with two outs in the second inning, Park continued to play a line drive by LG’s Moon Sung-joo with a diving catch. Kiwoom took the lead by scoring three points in the ensuing attack. Park continued to display good defense in the third inning to give strength to Kiwoom players. Again this time, the batter’s box showed concentration, and Kiwoom widened its lead to 6-0 through the third inning.
Park was applauded for his excellent defense in the seventh inning, when he chased back Moon Sung-joo’s long hit. At the batter’s box, he had multiple hits with an infield hit by the second baseman in the fourth inning and a timely RBI in the eighth inning.
“It was really great. I really wanted to win because the fans supported me a lot,” Park Soo-jong said after the game. “Even before the game, we had that atmosphere (to win). We really wanted to win, too. We said we wanted to win every day. Others talk like we are the last, but I think baseball is the only way the team at the bottom can win. We are always trying our best to win.”
Regarding the defense that blocked the loss in the second inning, he said, “I thought I could catch the ball from the time the ball flew, and I’m glad the result was good. I felt it flowed more than I thought, but I thought left-handed hitters could do that, so I was able to catch it without difficulty.”
When looking at the difficulty level alone, the defense in the seventh inning was more difficult. “At first, I thought it would be difficult because I stretched far, but I was able to catch it as I followed along. I think the second time was difficult because my eyesight was shaky,” Park explained.
Even before the game, Coach Hong said that he would take over as the main center fielder when Lee Ju-hyung returns to the team as early as next week. However, if Park continues to play well, concerns will likely arise. When asked if his chances would decrease, Park replied, “It’s not a bummer. When Joo-hyung comes, the coach will make sure that he plays in the best lineup. We just have to do our best as the coach told us. I hope he can come quickly and help our team.”