"It was an unexpected performance." We look at the bold 1R rookie who shook up the home festival and the second half of the year '+61"
Jul 07, 2024
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Park Ji-hwan (19, SSG Landers) played as a recommended player for the Dream All-Star coach at the 2024 All-Star Game held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 6th.
Son Ho-young (Lotte), a former coach-recommended player, failed to recover from his injury, and Park Ji-hwan had a chance. Park Ji-hwan, who was nominated to SSG in the first round of the 2024 rookie draft (10th overall) after graduating from Sebyeong High School, will be listed as the only new player recommended by the coach among high school graduates.
Ahead of the All-Star Game, Park Ji-hwan said, `It's such an honor that I was chosen last. He recommended me because he liked me, and thanks to him, I was honored to be able to come out like this. "I didn't think (I would go to the All-Star Game). I couldn't even imagine it, but I worked hard and this is what happened."
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Park Ji-hwan "You prepared a lot. `I was surprised,' he said, smiling `I also worked hard to prepare.'
There was a reason why I was confident that I prepared hard. Park Ji-hwan entered the batter's box as a leadoff hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning and danced to singer Psy's song 'New Face'. It was a perfect preparation beyond just copying the choreography. An SSG official explained, "'In order to appeal to the rookie this year, we decided to dance to the new face song with the appearance of the batter's box.'"
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Although the best performance award failed in second place due to Lotte's Hwang Sung-bin's delivery man makeup, it was enough to leave the name Park Ji-hwan for many fans.
Park Ji-hwan, who showed off his extraordinary talent in the All-Star Game, also predicted his performance in the second half. Park Ji-hwan has shown full performance in 32 games this season with a batting average of 364, two homers and six steals. He left for about a month at the end of April due to a broken finger due to a dune, but he erased his worries about the aftermath of the injury, hitting a batting average of 411 percent for the month of June.
Park Ji-hwan said, "I was sad that I got hurt in the first half, but I think I did well after that and became a blessing in disguise."In the second half of the year, I also set my personal goals. I want to get 100 hits." Park Ji-hwan, who had 39 hits in the first half, will achieve his goal by adding 61 hits. It's not an unattainable record, as there were 30 hits in June alone.
Park Ji-hwan said, `I will do my best to help our team play fall baseball while not losing strength"He expressed his determination.
bellstop@sportschosun.com
