Park Byung-ho (38) faced his former team KT Wiz for the first time since his trade. And Park Byung-ho greeted the KT fans 90 degrees when he took his first batter's box. The KT fans gave a warm round of applause to Park Byung-ho, the living legend of the KBO League. At the same time, they booed and shouted "Woo!" at the same time. It was Suwon where the booing and cheering of the old home fans coexisted when they saw Park leave the team during the season.
In an away game between the KT Wiz and the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Friday, Park started as the seventh batter and first baseman, and made two hits (one homer) and one RBI, one run and one stolen base from four times at bat. Despite Park's outstanding performance, however, Samsung suffered a come-from-behind defeat at the bottom of the ninth inning, forcing Park to bow down as well.
Even before the match, the two teams had a showdown. It was because the main characters, who changed uniforms through 1:1 trade, faced off against their former team for the first time. KT and Samsung officially announced on April 28 that Park Byung-ho and Oh Jae-il transferred through 1:1 trade. It was a huge 1:1 trade with Park Byung-ho and Oh Jae-il heading to KT.
However, the baseball community was in turmoil at the time when it was revealed that Park directly requested the release of Park. Park talked with the club about getting more opportunities to play. In the end, the club secured a 1:1 trade, sending Park away instead of Oh Jae-il.
The trade was a turning point for Park. Since moving to the Samsung Lions, Park has consistently played games and proved his presence. Notably, he set a new milestone of 400 home runs between Korea and the U.S. at the match against LG in Daegu on Tuesday. When asked if he has adapted to the team, Park said, "There are still some difficulties. I also want to come here and do better. It is true that if I fail, it is equally difficult. Still, I feel that I have become close to the team to some extent. I have adapted a lot in terms of the Samsung team's system and other aspects. I hope that I will continue to become closer to the players and the coaching staff."
Perhaps Park Byung-ho, who is still familiar with the doorway and dugout towards the first base at Suwon Wiz Park. However, Park entered the Wiz Park through the doorway towards the third base on the day. Many cameras were also on standby to capture Park going to work. As such, attention was paid to him. However, Park Byung-ho and Oh Jae-il, the two protagonists in the trade, politely declined to have an interview before the game. The message was read that they would focus solely on the game.
And Park took his first at-bat with two outs and no runners in the top of the second inning when the two teams were tying 0-0. Entering the batter's box, Park thought about picking a batter's box for a while and took off his helmet. Then, he bowed to KT fans 90 degrees Celsius in the first-base stands. KT fans cheered and applauded warmly. At the same time, some spectators booed, "Woo!"
It was a cheeky fate. The pitcher that Park faced was his old teammate Joey-hyeon. He let go of the strike on the first pitch. Then, with the second pitch, Park hit the curve ball (114 kilometers) at the second pitch, which was driven to the center of Joey-hyeon, and made a solo shot over the fence in left-center. The flying distance measured 125 meters. As if he knew it was a home run, Park bowed his head and ran to the first base. Then, he returned to the Samsung dugout and exchanged high-fives with his teammates. It was his ninth homer of the season and sixth since moving to the club. 노래방알바
This was not the end of Park's performance. In the bottom of the fourth inning, when his team was leading 3-0. After allowing Park a hit, KT gave up starter Joey-hyeon on the mound. The moment the next batter Lee Byung-hun was struck out, Park cleverly stole second base. The moment Park recorded his first stolen base after moving to Samsung. In addition, Park stole second base in about two months since the game against the Incheon SSG on April 26, when he was playing for KT. In addition, Park showed off his best defense by not missing Kim Young-woong's one-bound throw after two outs in the sixth inning.
If Samsung had won, chances were high that Park Byung-ho would be the hero of the interview with Soo-hoon. Park also politely declined prior interviews, but said through a Samsung official that he would do as many interviews as possible after the game. However, this did not lead to a reality. As the bullpen was shaken, Samsung ended up losing the game.
Before the match, Samsung coach Park Jin-man told Park's first visit to his home team, "Of course, you will feel pressured, but you still have to overcome it. You are a veteran who can overcome that level of pressure. You must have experienced that a lot even after entering the U.S.," before expressing trust, "I had a huge impact in the early days (after moving to the trade)." It is true that he has lost sense of hitting compared to then. And batters are doing well in the batting lineup at the front, too, so I hope he can hit without burden. Still, since he met his former team, his eyes will change a bit." Will Park continue to perform well in the remaining matches against KT.