“I wouldn’t have been able to stand here without Do-hwan.”
LG Twins’ Park Dong-won won the catcher’s defense award at the 2024 KBO Awards held at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul on the 26th. Park Dong-won scored 75 points on the ballot, and ranked first in the catcher’s defense record score, including steal blocking and official records, with a total score of 90.63 points.
Heo gave this honor to his senior player Heo Do-hwan. Heo was with Park Dong-won when he was with Nexen, and when Park came to LG as a free agent last year, they played together again to create a championship together. 바카라사이트This season, the two played together in the first team, but Heo left the team as the club decided not to renew his contract with Heo after the end of the season.
Park Dong-won said, “I spent a lot of time with Do-hwan, but I’m very sorry that I can’t be with him anymore,” adding, “I learned a lot from Do-hwan. That’s why I’m here.” He thanked Heo Do-hwan.
Next season, he has to lead LG’s home turf with his juniors without Heo Do-hwan.
Park Dong-won said, “I want to be helpful to my juniors, just as I’ve learned a lot from Do-hwan and come to this place,” adding, “If there’s anything I need to hear that the players have learned from me and helped me later, I want to help them a lot.”
I asked him to come anytime.
“I don’t tell my juniors first while working out with them,” Park said. “They must have something in their mind, but if I tell them first, their own might be broken,” Park said. “They always ask my juniors whenever they want to know. And when I ask, they give me sincere answers as far as I know.”
With Huh Do-hwan out, LG’s Lee Joo-heon, who joined in 2022, and Kim Bum-suk, who joined in 2023, are aiming for the back-up catcher position. Currently, Lee Joo-heon is better at defense and Kim Bum-suk is better at hitting. Park Dong-won’s partner will be decided through spring camp and exhibition games.
Park Dong-won, who received the defense award, is aiming for the first Golden Glove in his career this season. Having posted an overwhelming 944 ⅔ innings out of 130 games this season, Park had a batting average of 272, 118 hits, 20 homers and 80 RBIs.
Samsung’s Kang Min-ho has a batting average of .330 in 136 games, 122 hits 19 home runs and 77 RBIs, and KT’s Jang Sung-woo has a batting average of .268 and 112 hits, 19 home runs and 81 RBIs in 131 games, and three people are expected to compete for the golden gloves.
