Park Byung-ho (38, Samsung Lions) and Seo Geon-chang (35, KIA Tigers), the “Nex Avengers” who disappointed the runner-up even after the best season of the Nexen Heroes (current Kiwoom Heroes) in 2014, met again in a different team uniform for the first time in 10 years. It was Seo who was thrilled to win the title at an inevitable match where one had to laugh and the other had to cry.
KIA beat the Samsung Lions 7-5 in Game 5 of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Korean Series (best of seven) held at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 28th. KIA, which had 4 wins and 1 loss in the series, won its first combined championship in seven years since 2017 and its 12th Korean Series (including Haitai). Samsung has been on the Korean Series stage for the first time in nine years since 2015, but has been the 11th runner-up.
Attention was focusing on who would be the first to resolve the “no resentment” between Park Byung-ho and Seo Geon-chang, who served as members of the “Nekbugger.” The two players won the runner-up prize twice in the Heroes. Nexen had to remain the runner-up with two wins and four losses in the Korean Series, with its ultra-luxurious members including Seo Geon-chang, the “homer king” who hit 200 hits for the first time in the KBO League in 2014, Park Byung-ho, the “homer king” who hit 52 home runs, Kang Jung-ho, the “40 home run shortstop,” Van Hekken, the “20-win ace,” and Son Seung-rak.
Seo Kun-chang and Park Byung-ho, who experienced their first Korean Series, comforted each other by ranking first and second in the MVP voting in 2014. Since then, the two players have advanced to the Korean Series together. Kiwoom, which ranked third in the 2019 regular season, went from the semi-playoff to the playoffs to the Korean Series. However, having exhausted its physical stamina, Kiwoom lost four games to the Doosan Bears without even a single win. Park and Seo had to settle for second place in their second try.
Since then, the two have split into different teams. In July 2021, Seo Geon-chang moved to the LG Twins through a one-on-one trade (↔Jeong Chan-heon). Seeking to rebound from the LG Twins, Seo went downhill with a batting average of 0.229 with four homers, 54 RBIs and an OPS of 0.614, in 189 games during the three seasons. After failing to serve as an FA, he asked LG to release him after the end of the 2023 season, and found a new team and joined hands with KIA.
Seo Geon-chang, wearing the uniform of his hometown team, revived with a batting average of 0.310 (63 at-bats for 203 with one homer, 26 RBIs and an OPS of 0.820) in 94 games. Although he failed to meet the requirements for at-bats, he recorded a batting average of around 300 for the first time in five years since 2019 (0.300). He recorded a batting average of 0.344 in the scoring area and a batting average of 0.346 as a pinch hitter, showing off his strong sense of hitting in 13 games (13 hits in 23 times at bat) in September, helping Kia to secure an early first place position. 메이저사이트
Park had 20 or more home runs in 2020 (batting average 0.223) and 2021 (0.227), but his batting average fell sharply to the early 20s, raising concerns over the aging curve. After all, he failed to stay at Kiwoom in his original club after the end of the 2021 season, and made a fresh start by signing a three-year free agent contract worth 3 billion won (approx. Park Byung-ho, who showed signs of revival by becoming the 2022 Home Run King (35 home runs), faltered again by hitting only 18 home runs in 2023. After a sluggish start at KT this season, Park even decided to retire due to his narrowing position.
The flame of the national slugger, which was going out, came back to life as he faced a turning point called a trade. Park Byung-ho made a splendid comeback as a “Rapak big gun” by wearing the Samsung uniform through a trade with Oh Jae-il on May 28. The bat, which had been cold with a batting average of 0.198 (20 hits in 101 at-bats) with three homers and 10 RBIs and an OPS of 0.638 in 44 games at KT before his transfer, recovered with a batting average of 0.245 (61 hits in 249) with 20 homers and 60 RBIs in 76 games after his transfer. The batting average was a little low, but he showed off his unique power at important moments and reached the milestone with 20 homers again.
Park Byung-ho and Seo Geon-chang met again for the trophy as Samsung defeated the LG Twins in the playoffs to advance to the Korean Series. Their performances were somewhat disappointing. Seo went 0-for-4 in six at-bats for one walk in two games. He started in Games 1 and 3, but remained on the bench for the rest of the game.
Park had a long-awaited homerun in Game 3. He hit a wedge-shaped solo shot off Jeon in the seventh inning, contributing to his team’s 4-2 victory. With the homer, Park tied for first in the postseason with 14 homers. However, that was all. Park had a batting average of 0.118 (two hits in 17 times at bat) and one homerun and one RBI in five games of the Korean Series, which failed to meet expectations.
In the end, Seo was happy to win. Seo, who failed to make the roster when the LG Twins won the championship last year, shook off his disappointment and won the Korean Series title in a year. On the other hand, Park Byung-ho, who won the runner-up prize for the third time in the Korean Series as a member of KT in 2023, remained in the runner-up for the second consecutive year and the fourth time as an individual player, failing to win the title.
