‘Reprimanded second baseman’ Park Gun-woo returns to his mature self

NC Dinos veteran batter Park Gun-woo (33), who was reprimanded by his manager and sent to the second team, will he be able to return to the first team with maturity?

For now, the frosty relationship between Park and NC manager Kang Myung-ho has thawed after the All-Star Game.

Park Gun-woo, who was selected as an outfielder for the Nanum All-Star Game, gave a 90-degree greeting to Kang Myung-ho, who served as the first base coach, after hitting a single to left field in the first inning of the All-Star Game at Sajik Stadium on the 15th.

Before the game, the two were seen spontaneously high-fiving each other.

Park Gun-woo was removed from the first team roster on March 3. It wasn’t due to injury or poor performance. Park was batting .286 with seven home runs and 41 RBIs in 69 games this season, making him the centerpiece of the team’s batting order.

A day before the game against the Gochuk Kiwoom Heroes, Kang said that Park’s move to the second team was “reprimanding. The reason for his exclusion from the first team was that he had behaved in a way that harmed the team atmosphere.

At the time, Kang said, “As a veteran player, I think Park Gun-woo should have the virtues he should have, not just the skills. I always hoped that he wouldn’t do anything that would take away from the original team, and I was very disappointed in him in that regard,” Kang said, revealing the reason for Park’s move to the second team.메이저사이트

“It’s not a decision to tame or discipline the player,” he said, adding, “It’s just to give him a message that he shouldn’t deviate from his principles. It’s just to send a message that you can’t deviate from your principles.”

Park, who made his debut with the Doosan Bears in 2009 and played with the team until 2021, had been dropped from the first team roster for similar reasons during his time with Doosan.

Park was dropped from the first-team roster on June 22, 2021, with former coach Kim Tae-hyung saying, “If the atmosphere of the team is not right because of him, we have to make a decision. I thought it was necessary to make a decision at this time,” he explained.

Kang did not set a timeline for Park’s return to the first team. After receiving a report from the C-team (second team) coaching staff on his attitude in training, he revealed that he decided on the timing of his return after listening to his teammates’ thoughts. On the 13th, the last day of the first half, registration for the first team was available, but Kang did not call Park Gun-woo to the first team.

Before the end of the first half, Park sought out Kang for a meeting. On the 7th, when the Futures (second team) League game against the Lotte Giants was canceled due to rain, and the first team game against the Samsung Lions was also rained out, Park went to Kang to talk.

At the All-Star Game, Park Gun-woo said, “I met with the coach earlier and told him. It’s hard to say much about the conversation I had with him,” he said.

After apologizing to Kang through his behavior in the All-Star Game, Park could be in line to join the first team at the start of the second half.

Once he has participated in the All-Star Game, Park will train with the first team. NC began training for the second half of the season on June 17 after the All-Star break at their home stadium, Changwon NC Park, and Park was among the players.

NC, which boasted a steep rise in the month of June with 13 wins, one draw, and nine losses, remained in third place until the beginning of July, but slumped in July. With just three wins and six losses in nine games from the start of July through the end of the first half, NC has slipped to fourth place, and even that spot is in jeopardy.

They need to win the second half of the season to qualify for fall baseball for the first time in three years after 2020.

With so many young players on the roster, the return of Park Gun-woo and his maturity could help not only the offense but also the team atmosphere.

At the time of Park’s exclusion from the first team, Coach Kang said, “I felt it was necessary for Park to have time to think about it alone and mature. I want him to have time to mature.”

It will be interesting to see if Park comes back as a mature veteran to lead the ‘One Team’.