LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yup praised catcher Park Dong-won, 33, who was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the month of May.
“It was great, and it was a time when I thought (Park) was getting better at baseball,” Yeom said of Park’s performance last month before the game against the Gochuk Kiwoom Heroes on Aug. 8. “In defense, I never worried about him because he was so good at blocking. He kept getting good results at the plate, so I thought, ‘He’s opening his eyes to baseball,'” he said.
In the month of May, Park was on fire, batting .333 (25-for-75) with nine home runs and 25 RBIs in 23 games. His on-base percentage was a whopping .787. His home runs, RBIs, and on-base percentage were all monthly leaders. “I was disappointed that he hadn’t fully realized his hitting potential, but when you do the basics well, the results will come, and he’ll think, ‘This is what I’m doing,'” Yeom said.
Park is currently leading the league in home runs this season. He’s on pace to hit more than 30 homers if he finishes the season on his current pace. He could easily surpass 2021, when he hit a career-high 22 home runs in a single season. “If Dong-won is greedy, he can become the home run king and RBI king. I think he can develop into a player who represents Korea,” he said. “He is not a player whose physical strength suddenly drops, but the key will be to maintain his physical strength.”안전놀이터
Park Dong-won is not the only LG player to shine in May. It had the most nominations among the five clubs for the monthly MVP award. Three of the eight nominees were LG players. Park’s battles with Im Chan-kyu and Hong Chang-ki were particularly noteworthy, as he went undefeated in four games in May and posted a 1.13 ERA. “Since Dong-won won the monthly MVP, the MVP in my mind is (Im) Chan-kyu,” Yeom laughed.