The announcement of a larger base and a pitch clock is good news for Hae-min “Dado” Park (33-LG Twins). However, Park said, “It doesn’t necessarily mean that stolen bases will increase,” adding, “We need to thoroughly analyze the new system and prepare for the changes to enjoy the benefits.”
“In the 128-game system, 200 hits came out (Seo Gun-chang had 201 in 2014),” Park said at Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the 30th, just before the LG Twins departed for Arizona, where they have set up spring training . Many people expected him to hit more than 200 hits in the 144-game system, but no one has hit more than 200 hits since then.” “Increasing the base size will help stolen bases, but opposing batteries will also be concerned about preventing stolen bases. You have to prepare for that if you want to have a higher success rate.”
The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) has decided to increase the size of bases from 15 square inches to 18 square inches starting in the 2024 season. The pitch clock will be tested on a trial basis before deciding whether to implement it later .Major League Baseball has seen a significant increase in stolen base attempts and successes as a result of the increased base size and pitch clock .In 2022, John Bertie led all of Major League Baseball with 41 stolen bases. In 2023, Ronald Acuña Jr. led the league with 73 stolen bases. Park Hae-min led the KBO in stolen bases for four consecutive seasons, from 2015 to 2018, while playing for the Samsung Lions. His single-season record is 60 stolen bases, which he achieved in 2015.”I’m going to play more often this year,” Park promised .But more importantly, he wants to improve his success rate .Last year, Park attempted 38 steals and succeeded 26 times (68.4% success rate). Both the number of stolen bases and the success rate were unsatisfactory for Park.
While Park was disappointed that his success rate was not above 70%, he was also motivated by the fact that his teammate Jung Soo-bin (33, Dusan Bears) won his first individual stolen base title last year (39, 83% success rate).Park and Jeong are the same age, born in 1990. However, Park, who was born in February, is referred to as the “senior” because he entered school a year earlier. “The fact that Jung Soo-bin won the top spot in stolen bases last year motivated me,” Park said. “I gained confidence from him that I could challenge for the top spot again. Now that I have an environment where I can play more, I will try to steal more often while improving my success rate. “Although his stolen base success rate was not as high as usual, Park Hae-min was a key player in LG’s 2023 championship .Most notably, in Game 5 of the Korean Series against the KT Wiz, his last game in Korean professional baseball in 2023, he hit a two-run double in the bottom of the third inning and made a diving catch to prevent a run from scoring in the top of the fourth. He also pulled off two spectacular uppercutting moves. After LG clinched the championship, Park was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the game.
“Being named MVP of that game is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Park said, before adding, “We’re now the defending champions, and everyone is looking up to us. “We are now the defending champions, and everyone is looking up to us. Even if such a crisis comes, we need to increase our strength so that we can handle it well,” he said, revealing the firm determination of the ‘guardians’.Park Hae-min has become a “mature player” to the point of making such a call .He even sent a special message of encouragement to rookie pitcher Park Myung-geun, who didn’t make the roster for the Korean Series and only accompanied the team .”It might not be easy for a rookie to accept, but Park Myung-geun helped the team throughout the Korean Series without showing any signs of discomfort,” Park explained, “and I was grateful for that, so I expressed my feelings to him. “It’s also a “hierarchy” that requires them to act like adults .”When Kim Min-sung transferred to the Lotte Giants, I became the third most senior LG player after Heo Do-hwan and Kim Hyun-soo. It’s been three years since I signed with LG.” “I have two years left on my contract 스포츠토토존 with LG, including this season. I want to win two more championships.”
