LG Twins catcher Park Dong-won has jumped out to an early lead in the home run department in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) this year, with seven dingers through 28 games. This is an unexpected development for a backstop who has topped the 20-homer mark just once in his 14-year career.
More than any technical progress that Park may have made, his manager Youm Kyoung-youb said Tuesday he's more pleased with Park's new mental approach at the plate.
"His mindset is different than in the past," Youm told reporters in a pregame scrum before the Twins hosted the Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. Youm previously managed Park with the Nexen (currently Kiwoom) Heroes from 2013 to 2016.
"He is really trying to stick to the fundamentals, when it comes to hitting," Youm added. "When you're swinging the bat as well as he is, it can be easy to start swinging for the fences every time. But he has done a great job staying within himself."
Park's career high is 22 home runs from the 2021 season. He followed that up with 18 in 2022. So the 33-year-old isn't just some light-hitting, glove-only catcher. But few would have expected Park to be leading the KBO in home runs a full month into the 2023 season.
Youm said he would like Park to raise his batting average. Park is batting .256 this season and that's exactly his career average. He has never batted .300 in any season and his career high is .270 from 2017.
"If you start putting more balls in play and hitting for a higher average, home runs will naturally follow," Youm added.
Park has so far played in 28 of the Twins' 29 games, and Youm said he plans to give the catcher more breathers down the road.
"It is such a demanding position, and he's going to get his share of rest," the manager said. "And when he doesn't catch, he won't be the designated hitter, either. We'll let him take the whole game off, though we may use him as a pinch hitter in late innings depending on the situation."
Source: Yonhap News Agency