SSG Landers high school graduate rookie Park Ji-hwan started as third baseman for the first time since his professional debut on the 17th.
When Park was in high school, his main position was shortstop. The next position he is familiar with is second baseman. However, SSG has a firm shortstop, Park Sung-han. He has decided that it would be better for Park to enter the race for second base, where the main second baseman was uncertain, rather than competing with Park as a shortstop.
As Park stood out from the spring camp, the coaching staff of the first and second teams joined forces to train defense players on the second and third bases. As Park had good defense capabilities even as a shortstop with strong shoulders and natural judgment, he quickly adapted to the third base defense. Park himself enjoyed training defense players on the second and third bases.
Manager Lee has been actively using Park Ji-hwan in the first division since the beginning of this season. There were times when he was out for a while due to an injury, but he has recovered quickly and is making his debut season his own. He was a bold and courageous high school graduate. He was the first-rounder that the team had expected.
Then he found a competitor in good faith. He is Jeong Joon-jae, another infielder who joined the team and is two years older than him. Jeong Joon-jae, who was nominated for early draft during his time at Dongguk University, naturally formed a competition with Park Ji-hwan as a second baseman. Despite his short infield standing at 1 meter 65 meters tall and small size, his performance on the ground was comparable to Park’s. Notably, his calm response to the situation, which was not like a rookie, captivated coaching staff and the club.
Recently, Park Ji-hwan has slowed down a bit in hitting. He steadily improved, but at some point, he became in a hurry as the result did not come out. He got the hang of it again by practicing hard to recover the connection movement and heating points when hitting. Usually, when rookie players face a difficult time, they can send them to the second division for correction or to have them play more games. However, Lee is more eager to have Park Ji-hwan, who will become a more reliable main infielder in the future, in the first division than in the present.
Manager Lee said, “When rookies concentrate on using one player, they go up when they do well, but when they fall on the other side, they fall off endlessly. I thought I should adjust that. Park Ji-hwan and Jung Joon-jae are not important this year, but they have to do their best for next year, five, 10 years. We can compete in good faith with each other, so we can work hard again. I try to use them according to those situations.”
Park Ji-hwan’s debut match at the starting third baseman is a preparation for the upcoming games. Of course, Park will be best if he is given a certain position, continues to play in a fixed position and shows stable performance. However, Park Ji-hwan and Jung Joon-jae, who will now play in their debut seasons as professionals, believe that they need more process to find their place by gaining experience in various positions.
Jung Joon-jae can also defend third base, but his main position is second base. He considers second base defense the most comfortable, followed by shortstop. He recently played third base defense more often than Park Ji-hwan, but he was disappointed in detailed movements from the coaching staff’s perspective. Analysts say Park Ji-hwan’s defense against third base is better from a long-term perspective. In addition, as Choi Jeong, the main third baseman, is now in his late 30s, if the number of designated hitters next year increases, the more players he can fill the position. It is not expected that there will be many games to play as third baseman, but all of these could eventually be difficult experience for Park even if he pays for it.
Park Ji-hwan allowed an infield hit in his debut game as the starting third baseman because he could not take the ball out even after catching Noh Si-hwan’s ground ball in the top of the first inning, and played a gruesome game leading to a loss after recording a catch error at An Chi-hong’s at-bat in the fourth inning. On this day, Park Ji-hwan came out as the third baseman instead of Choi Jung, who was judged by the training part that Choi Jeong was in a slump and needed a break. He has trained hard so far, but he must have realized that the real game is different again.
It is regrettable that he lost the game on the day, but the fact remains that he is a rookie with high expectations going forward. Park was not obsessed with defensive errors early in the game, and displayed strong concentration by watching the ball longer at bat and matching the hitting point as he entered the second half of the game 메이저놀이터. The result was two hits, “multi hits.”
