There is a saying that ‘the person who is originally good at baseball continues to be good at baseball’. Park Geon-woo has a career batting average of 0.327 in the KBO, ranking third in batting average after Lee Jung-hoo (0.342) and Jang Hyo-jo (0.330). However, it is only from the blow.
However, although it was an unofficial practice game, Park Kun-woo, who had never played as a third baseman since his professional debut, played as the starting third baseman in a national team uniform in a practice match against SSG Landers held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 3rd.
It was an inevitable choice for Park Kun-woo to play as third baseman. The national team’s starting third baseman is the best, but he fell out of the lineup due to poor physical condition. Ha-seong Kim and Hye-seong Kim were the players who could play third base as a backup, but Ha-seong Kim could not participate in an unofficial practice game due to the rules of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC). And Kim Hye-seong played as the starting second baseman that day. So, there was no suitable substitute for third baseman.
Park Gun-woo had experience playing third base in Seoul High School, but since his professional debut, he has only played as an outfielder. In today’s game, there were no difficult hits like assault balls, so it was not possible to properly check his talent as a third baseman, but his defensive sense was outstanding.
In particular, several tricks that stole the start of SSG third base runner Oh Tae-gon drew attention. He took a posture as if a throwing ball was coming and brought the runner close to the base. Oh Tae-gon smiled in surprise after being tricked by Park Gun-woo’s trick. One such invisible defensive sense can be an opportunity to prevent conceding.
And in the top of the 6th inning, when Oh Tae-gon’s batted ball was safely loaded, he ran forward before shortstop Oh Ji-hwan, caught it, and threw it into a running throw, receiving applause from his teammates at the third base dugout. 안전놀이터
However, there were also batted balls that were difficult for Park Gun-woo, who was not a professional third baseman. In the top of the 6th inning, first baseman Choi Sang-min’s surprise bunt rolled slowly over the line, and after the catch, he was unable to get the ball out of his glove at once, allowing an infield hit. At this time, the third base dugout colleagues scolded Park Kun-woo and teased him.
On this day, Park Gun-woo’s appearance as third baseman does not have to be of great significance, but he showed good defense even in the awkward third baseman position, and showed off a hot bat at bat. He took the lead in the national team’s 10-2 victory, hitting a 1 RBI double in the 5th inning, a solo home run in the 7th inning, and a 2 RBI double in the 9th inning.
We call a player like Park Gun-woo, who performed well even in an unfamiliar position without making a mistake.