The NC Dinos made a bold decision for the value of the One-Team, which was so important.
On the 3rd, NC announced through the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) that Park Kun-woo (33) was excluded from the first division entry. It was an unusual and surprising decision in many ways. First of all, NC’s recent performance has not been good. NC continued its momentum in mid-June and once aimed for the top of the KBO League, only three games apart from the No. 1 team. However, as the starting lineup was shaken, the momentum was dampened, including 2 wins and 8 losses in the last 10 games (as of the 4th game), and eventually lost the game against the Gocheok Kiwoom Heroes on the 4th, allowing the Lotte Giants to share the third place.
Above all, the decision drew a lot of attention because it came out in a situation where there were no injuries and sluggishness. Park Kun-woo played in 69 메이저사이트 추천 games this year and had a batting average of 0.286 with seven home runs, 41 RBIs and six steals, with an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage). His performance in the last 10 games was not bad with a batting average of 0.286 points. In terms of OPS, he was the No. 1 hitter in the team. In the field, it could only be seen that the player’s second division, which was clearly contributing, had problems outside of his skills.
Ahead of the Gocheok Kiwoom match on the 4th, head coach Kang In-kwon said, “A senior player needs not only his skills but also his virtues.” I didn’t want to get away from the One-Team as a coach. In that sense, I was very disappointed with Park Kun-woo, and I felt that I needed time to think on my own,” he said, effectively admitting that fact.
Then, what part did it matter. According to the baseball community, Park Kun-woo has revealed his burden on physical strength and defense since last year. Rumor has it that he has consistently expressed his desire to play as a designated hitter. The problem is that the demand did not take into account the team situation and atmosphere.
Park Kun-woo already had a similar precedent when he was in Doosan. In June 2021, then Doosan manager Kim Tae-hyung excluded Park Kun-woo from the first division and said, “I told him to rest well because he was tired rather than in a bad condition,” adding, “This is a team.” If the team atmosphere goes wrong due to a specific player, the coach has to make a decision. For now, I excluded the decision because I think it was necessary,” he stressed.
A representative thing in NC was a demand for replacement ahead of the defense in the bottom of the eighth inning, when the team was losing 0-1 against Suwon KT Wiz on the 2nd. At that time, Park Kun-woo demanded a replacement even though he was not injured, and NC, where the main right fielder and the third batter were missing, lost 0-5 with four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Coach Kang also said, “I hope this incident will not be interpreted too much.” It is true that Park Kun-woo complained of inconvenience here and there while playing last week, but he did not deny that the scene had a big impact, saying, “The decisive thing was Sunday’s game.”
There is also a part that I hope the team that has not been doing well recently. With this decision, NC will not be able to use the team’s best batter for 10 days. It’s actually out in the first half. Nevertheless, it is significant to seek the consent of NC members to bring the best batter in the team to the first division without injury. Coach Kang, who made the final decision, is also well known in the baseball world for his strong style of behavior that goes against principles.
Coach Kang said, “I thought this was the most important moment of the season. “I thought the last 15 games in the first half would be an important point in determining where our team will be at the end of the season,” he said, adding, “(Park Gun-woo’s call-up) is not for me to judge. “Team C (second division) coaches will talk while watching the player (Park Kun-woo)’s track record or the game, and it is something to listen to and judge what our team’s players have in mind,” he firmly said.
Even at the risk of immediate power loss, it can be seen as a decision made for the future of NC and Park Kun-woo this season. Park Kun-woo and NC, who joined the team with a six-year FA contract of 10 billion won ahead of the 2022 season, have more days to be together.
As the saying goes, the ground hardens after the rain, NC expects the 10-day cancellation of the first division to serve as an opportunity to become a “one team.” Coach Kang said, “As a coach, it is not a dimension of taming players or discipline the team. “As we always did, I wanted to give a message that I should not deviate from the principles I have,” he said. “Park Gun-woo is a representative player of Korea, and there are friends who play baseball while watching Park Gun-woo. “I hope the player will have time to think and mature on his own,” he expected.