Let’s turn the clock back to seven years ago. The Samsung Lions tried to recruit big-name batters to fill the void left by Lee Seung-yeop, the “national hitter” who is about to retire.
It was Park Byung-ho of the Minnesota Twins who entered the Samsung Lions’ radar screen. Park had a batting average of 191 percent (41 hits in 215 times at bat) with 12 homers and 24 RBIs in 62 games in 2016, his first year in the big league, but had lost motivation as he remained in Triple-A for the second year.스포츠토토
Samsung judged that if Park Byung-ho, who is tired of living abroad, uses Daegu Samsung Lions Park, a batter-friendly stadium, as his home ground, he will be able to demonstrate his strength of hitting 50 home runs for the second consecutive year.
In response, Samsung confirmed Park’s intention through an insider who is very close to him and discussed a trade with Nexen, Park’s original club. The deal was close to being successful, but it did not happen as Nexen changed its mind.
Did he say that he would meet again? Park Byung-ho ended up wearing the Samsung Lions uniform. Having lost ground due to poor performance this season, Park recently requested to have a meeting with his club and release him through the public announcement of waivers. His intention was to seek other teams because he has fewer opportunities to play and his position has become narrower than in previous years.
Samsung agreed to a one-on-one trade with KT on Friday. The deal was made on the condition that Park Byung-ho be recruited after Oh Jae-il was handed over. “As a right-handed slugger necessary for a team, it is expected to strengthen the balance between the right and left sides of the batting line and maximize the advantages of outstanding home run productivity at Daegu Lions Park, where the fence is short,” Samsung said right after the trade announcement.
Park Byung-ho is a living legend in the Korean pro baseball league. After graduating from Seongnam High School, Park hit 380 home runs for 19 years until last year after receiving the LG Twins’ first nomination in 2005, and hit 35 home runs after signing a three-year, 3 billion won FA contract with KT in 2022 when the aging curve was suspected, clinching his sixth (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2022) home run title.
Park Byung-ho broke the 2005 record of becoming the oldest homerun king under then-Lotte Giants manager Larry Sutton (aged 35). He also became the sixth homerun king, the most in Korean history, surpassing Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop (aged 5).
Park Byung-ho, who was hurt a lot by performing better than expected this season, is expected to show off his great power as a national giant on a new stage.