To the field rookies who are aiming for the "second Park Ji-hwan"..."Professional is different from amateur"
To the field rookies who are aiming for the "second Park Ji-hwan"..."Professional is different from amateur"
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Park Ji-hwan, born in 2005, wore the SSG uniform as the 10th overall pick in the first round of the KBO Rookie Draft during the 2024 season. His debut season performance was remarkable. He recorded four home runs, 63 hits, 21 RBIs, 33 runs and eight steals in 76 games. He had the batting average of 0.276, which was the best performance among fielders.
Park Ji-hwan's 2024 performance is the standard for rookie fielders who are aiming to perform well this season. For example, Park Joon-soon (Doosan Bears), the "No. 1 fielder," is striving to overcome his performance this year. "My ultimate goal is to win the Rookie of the Year award," Park said earlier this year. "I think (Park) Ji-hwan should be better than his brother."메이저사이트
What will he think? Park gave advice to his juniors ahead of the game against the Hanwha Eagles at an exhibition game of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Sunday.
"Amateur and professional players are definitely different," Park said, looking back on his debut season. "No matter how good the batting performance is, the opposing teams are quick to analyze. Then, you may lose your sense quickly," Park said generously.
However, he said, "You have to do it to know what you will do," and advised people to take a confident attitude. "Players who are more talented than I am. They are all good at hitting." "I felt that my batting felt bad for the first time as I lost physical strength in the summer. I felt it all the more when I didn't get the ball I was thinking about."
Whenever he did, Park reportedly tried to clear his mind. "I emptied my thoughts. I tried to play ball in my original style with the mindset of 'let's play ball first,'" Park said. "As a result, there were many cases where we hit it off."
After successfully completing his debut season, he became a second-year professional and even gave advice to juniors. However, he is still a young player who needs to compete to become a starting member in his team.
On the same day, Lee hinted at ways to use Park Ji-hwan for this season. "Park Ji-hwan's main position will be at third base," Lee said. "Choi Jeong must be physically burdened. Park Ji-hwan will fill that spot."
Park seemed firmly established in the coach's plan. "I have plans B and C in mind. I am also considering using Park as an outfield player. I have gained confidence in the outfield as well," Lee said. "I will continue to test him at exhibition games due to his good movement. He will improve in the future." According to Lee, Park will be able to play various defensive positions regardless of whether he is in the infield or outfield.
Still, he is full of confidence. "I saw a lot of third base players last year. Shortstop is something I've been doing since I was young, so I don't have much of a sense of incompatibility," Park said with confidence. "I'm adjusting to the outdoors. I don't think it's bad because I think I'm getting used to it well."
The goal of the 2025 season is to achieve better performance than last year's. For now, the team is aiming at the full-time first team.
"It is good to play as many games as possible. I want to play more than 100 games," Park said. "Last year, I played as I wanted without any hesitation. I need to show better performance to meet expectations this year."
In terms of hitting, he also tried to find a way to use his lower body strength. "I paid a lot of attention to my lower body to set the timing regularly. I changed a lot in those areas," Park said. "I tried not to throw a bat on a bad ball. This gave me a lot of stability."
Rather than worrying, he is waiting for the second year of the season with excitement. "I'm excited ahead of the season. We prepared so well," Park said. "I'm not nervous. I'm aiming high inside."