A healthy Byung-ho Park (37), KT’s No. 4 hitter, will lead the team’s batting lineup in the final gateway to the Korean Series.
KT and NC will play the first game of the playoffs (best-of-five) at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on April 30. KT, which concluded its regular season early with a game against Doosan in Suwon on April 10, had a relatively easier time preparing for “fall baseball” than NC, which played the wild-card deciding game against Doosan and the semifinal PO 1-3 games against SSG.
With 20 days to spare, KT players are in the process of healing from the fatigue of playing 144 games in the regular season and improving their physical condition for the PO. The biggest harvest is a healthy Park Byung-ho. Park has been battling injuries, both big and small, to his thighs and calves this season. After being sidelined with a hamstring injury early in the season, Park could only watch as KT slipped to the bottom of the league. In August, he injured his calf during a game, but played through the pain to finish the rest of the season.토토사이트
The center fielder was one of the driving forces behind KT’s ability to finish the regular season in second place after falling to the bottom of the league. Despite not being at full strength, Park played in 132 games this season, batting .283 with 18 home runs, 87 RBIs, and an OPS of .800. He was especially impressive in the scoring column. Park’s regular-season batting average with runners in scoring position was .340, showing off his “fixer” side.
After a well-rested regular season, Park Byung-ho entered the series against NC in perfect shape. He warmed up his bat by batting fourth and playing first base against the Cheong Wa Dae at Suwon’s home stadium on April 26, hitting a solo home run against Uhm Sang-baek. Park showed confidence after the game, telling reporters, “I recovered perfectly from my leg problem due to the long rest.”
While the NC batting lineup is showing off its batting prowess from the top to the bottom of the order, the loss of Kang Baek-ho, one of the main hitters, to an injury to his adductor muscle, has put some weight on Park’s shoulders. However, Park has fond memories of last year, when he batted .526 with one home run and three RBIs in five games in the semi-postseason with Kiwoom. That’s why KT has been waiting for a healthy Byung-ho Park.