“I remember that he told me to throw it lightly.”
Doosan Bears sidearm Park Chi-guk (25) faced national hitter Lee Seung-yeop (46) for the first and last time in 2017 when he was a rookie. Lee Seung-yeop was spending his retirement season with the Samsung Lions at the time. Park Chi-guk met the legendary hitter of professional baseball twice and struck out all of them. I still remember the crystal ball. He was a fastball once and a slider once.
The national hitter who completely overpowered him on the mound and now wears the same uniform. Doosan teamed up with new manager Lee Seung-yeop in October of last year. Lee Seung-yeop, who had been away from the field for five years after his retirement, started his leadership career at Doosan, not Samsung, and gave a fresh shock to the baseball world.
The news of Lee’s appointment as head coach was a fresh shock to Park Chi-guk, who was preparing for the new season after completing his elbow rehabilitation. Park Chi-guk met with reporters at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 16th and said, “It was the first time I met manager Lee Seung-yeop on the mound. I remember greeting him and striking out. He is a representative hitter, and I only thought that I had to catch it, so I threw it with more concentration. I think there was such a result. I watched the video again a while ago,” he looked back and smiled.
“I didn’t have much conversation with the coach, but when I was a player, he threw me a word at a time when I passed by. I remember saying, ‘Throw it lightly’. same,” he added.
From 2018, Park Chi-guk was appointed as the Pilseungjoo in earnest and took his place. He pitched in more than 60 games each year for three seasons through 2020, collecting 38 holds and 6 saves. In the 2020 season, he set a career high with a 2.89 earned run average in 71⅔ innings pitched.
However, from the 2021 season, his power pitching became difficult in the aftermath of elbow pain, and he was eventually put on the operating table in July of that year. After 11 months of rehabilitation and training, he returned to the mound in mid-June of last year, but the pain recurred. He pitched 11⅔ innings in 15 games through July and had an earned run average of 5.40 before ending the season and rebuilding his body.
Park Chi-guk calmly said, “Last year, I came up because I thought I was in shape, but I think I was in a bad state. There were many small injuries. I think it would have been better if I had built my body and came up without rushing.” 슬롯사이트
Forget the past and try to start by proving to Lee that he is what the Doosan bullpen needs right now. Park Chi-guk tries to fight the batters on the mound again, just like when coach Lee said, “Throw it lightly” when he was a player.
Park Chi-guk said, “This is my mindset in 2018. There is no place for me, and it’s time to go up again by showing it again. I’m going to start with it,” he said vigorously.
Also, it would be a lie if I said there was no anxiety about what to do if my elbow hurt. Still, I check my body condition as much as possible, and try to endure while believing in myself.
Park Chi-guk said, “This year, along with the thought that I have to show it, I also thought about what to do if I get sick. It seems that I have no choice but to leave it to the heavens,” and pledged to enter the fierce competition in Australia.