I heard that I was sluggish even after hitting 20. I am a player who is valuable only when I maintain my long hitting power.”
KT Wiz Park Byung-ho is an indispensable name in the history of home runs in the KBO League along with Lee Seung-yeop (currently Doosan coach), the “national hitter”. He became the home run king for the 6th time in his personal career with 35 home runs last year, not only being named the most winner in this category, but also breaking the record for the oldest home run king ever. He is considered the most likely candidate for the home run title this season.
In eight games during his exhibition game, he went 2 hits in 14 at-bats and had no home run, which raised concerns, but this was unfounded. He got off to a good start with 8 hits in 20 at-bats and a batting average of 0.400 in 5 games after the opening.
In the match against Sajik Lotte Giants on the 8th, he even shot a home run in 2023. Against Lotte ace Dan Strayley, he showed off his unique terrifying power by hitting a ball with a distance of 125m that went over the fence in the middle of Sajik Baseball Stadium.
As of the 11th, while recording 363 home runs in the KBO, the third 400 home run after Lee Seung-yeop and Choi Jeong (SSG) is not an impossible challenge this season.
However, Park Byeong-ho is not very greedy for records. On the 9th, ahead of the resignation Lotte game, “I’m just simple. I was sluggish in 2020 and 2021, and I heard that it was an aging curve because of my age.” “It’s that I have the confidence that I can do it because I hit it. I prepared for this season with the thought of maintaining and continuing the prepared parts, but the home run king doesn’t seem to be very important at the moment.”
However, he emphasized, “I heard that I couldn’t even hit 20 homers. I felt that if my hitting power fell, I felt that I was a player with less value, so how to keep my hitting power going forward seems more important to me in the future.”
He also showed strong faith in his colleagues who are leading KT’s lineup together. Kang Baek-ho, Alford, and Park Byeong-ho are the main lineup of the wizard corps, which is evaluated as the most well-organized among the 10 clubs.
Kang Baek-ho had a batting average of 0.245, 6 home runs and 29 RBIs in 62 games last year due to injury, but this season, he has been batting hard with 8 hits in 21 at-bats, batting average of 0.381, 2 homers and 7 RBIs from the beginning of the season. Alford, who is in his second year in the KBO, also showed off a hot hitting feeling during the first week of the opening with 24 at-bats, 8 hits, 0.333 batting average, 2 home runs and 6 RBIs.
Byeong-ho Park said,메이저놀이터 “Both Baek-ho Kang and Alford have swings that can produce strong hits. Baek-ho Kang is very smart, and I was surprised to see that Alford produced line drive hits without easily striking out. “Thanks to that, I can get into the bat more comfortably. I feel that he will solve it in front of me. In the case of Kang Baek-ho, it’s great to see him swinging with confidence and flying the ball. He is currently in a very good condition.”