She’s unafraid. He throws his unfamiliar pitches boldly at crucial moments. He doesn’t give up even when the ball doesn’t move at will and is completely out of play. Rookie Park Myung-geun (19) created a new wind on the LG mound with his always confident and assertive pitching.

It was a very difficult situation for a middle reliever. Park pitched in the ninth inning of the Gwangju KIA game on April 26 with the bases loaded and two runs down. After a home run to extend the lead in the top of the ninth inning, it looked like he wouldn’t be able to stay on the mound, but he was forced to pitch while allowing the opponent to catch up.

The most comfortable situation is to pitch at the beginning of the inning with no runners on base. However, sometimes it is the fate of the pitcher to be responsible for a situation where a home run is all it takes to erase a lead. Park Myung-geun has been in charge of crunch time since the opening game.

There was one more bad news. His changeup, which had been working well in the bullpen, wasn’t working as well on the mound. Against the first batter, Kim Sun-bin, he confidently threw a fastball changeup, but it was a meaningless ball that sailed well outside.

I didn’t give up on the changeup. He followed up his changeup with three fastballs before hitting a single to left field. Two outs, runners on first and second. A home run would have made it even tougher.

But he also threw a changeup to Jong-wook Ko. This time, the ball was bigger than expected. Two fastballs gave him a 1-2 count and he threw another changeup. Another pitch well out of the zone. Finally, with the count at 2-2, he threw a fastball to get a swinging strikeout to seal the win. It was his fourth save of the season and first in Gwangju.

“Actually, when I was warming up in the bullpen, my changeup was working well, so when I got on the mound, I told (Park) Dong-soo that I wanted to go with my changeup a lot today. It didn’t work out, but I’m glad I got it,” Park said after the game.

Taking a chance It’s the first changeup he’s seen in camp, but he recognizes the need and throws it to lefties and righties alike. He’s still seeing ups and downs with the pitch, but he knows he needs to keep working on it to make it his own. It’s this kind of boldness that is driving Park’s rapid growth.

His coach was also bold. Coach Yeom Kyung-yup clearly remembers Park’s high school form and was confident of his success. He decided to use him in key situations early on, and now he’s both a closer and a setup man. He has four holds, the same number as his saves.

When asked about the save and hold numbers next to his name, Park said, “Actually, I didn’t expect to go out so early in the season. I thought I would be grateful just to play in the first team, but I’m even more grateful because the coach continues to trust me. Thanks to him, I’ve been keeping good records,” she smiled.

The same was true for Jung Woo-young, who won the rookie of the year award four years ago. Then-head coach Ryu Jung-il and pitching coach Choi Il-un were confident of his success from the start of camp, and he established himself as a must-win pitcher within a week of the opening day. Although he struggled in the middle of the season, he still finished the season with a winning record and was named Rookie of the Year.

Park said, “Woo-young always gives me good advice and helps me. He told me that when he was a rookie, he played often from the beginning of the season, and he experienced a period where he got beaten once or twice, and he said that it was important not to worry too much about it. He said, “It’s okay because you’re a rookie, so do whatever you want to do and experience it.” He shared the advice of his close role model.토토사이트

Like Jung Woo-young, Park Myung-geun is also challenging for the Rookie of the Year title. He’ll be joined by his teammates Kim Seo-hyun, Yoon Young-cheol, and Kim Min-seok, and it’s a close race, but the first to finish will win. “I feel like I’m competing with my friends in good faith,” says Park. Of course, I want to win if we go head-to-head. I believe that if I do my best to fulfill the role that the team needs rather than being conscious of being the rookie king, there will be good results.”

It’s a promising start to the season for LG. The team is on top of the standings and has an unprecedented home run leader. They also have a confident rookie challenging for Rookie of the Year honors. LG is preparing for the next 99 games with a full heart.