14 years of relationship. "I think I've never seen the director cry before." Lee Ho-joon and Park Min-woo's fantastic chemistry will continue this year [On the set of Changwon]

*This content was translated by AI.

It's been a long time together, but it was the first time I cried. The "chemistry" between Captain Park Min-woo (33) and head coach Lee Ho-joon (50) of the NC Dinos is still strong.

Park Min-woo met with reporters at Changwon NC Park on the 5th and said, "I can hardly remember (Director Lee Ho-joon crying). I don't think you spilled it at the retirement ceremony," he said.

Park Min-woo, who took over as interim captain in the second half of the 2024 season, will take over as captain this year following last year. In the 2025 season, he had a batting average of 0.302 (122 hits in 404 at-bats), three home runs, 67 RBIs and 64 runs, 28 steals, and an OPS of 0.810 in 117 games. He showed a strong performance in the scoring area (batting average of 0.432), maintaining the central batting line, and showed leadership.

In particular, Park Min-woo's chemistry with head coach Lee Ho-joon was brilliant. In 2013, when Park Min-woo was in his second year as a professional, the relationship that continued when Lee joined NC as a free agent (FA) has already been in his 14th year. After being the oldest, rookie, coach, and player, he is now continuing his relationship as a coach and captain.

Park Min-woo said, "I have no choice but to have the best chemistry with the director. I think it went well, he said. "I don't think there's a big problem this year either." "It was different than I thought when the director came last year," he said, adding, "There is bound to be something different when you become a coach. He said, "Even if you have a goal, you can change every moment when the season starts."

Last year, head coach Lee said at a press conference ahead of the second game of the wild card match against the Samsung Lions, "I can't tell you to work hard." "It's sad. I'm thankful and proud of you, and the players are squeezing enough. I'm sorry as a director," he said, shedding tears. After the game at the time, Park Min-woo said, "Like a joke, it's the world's top three tears. The team atmosphere was so good in the locker room that he said, "The tears of Amazon, the tears of Antarctica, and the tears of Lee Ho-joon."

This is because NC players fought at the time. NC, which had fallen to 3.5% of its chances of advancing to the postseason (based on KBO PS Odds on September 20 last year), dramatically advanced to the fall baseball with nine consecutive wins at the last minute. However, in the first game, Kim Hyung-joon (left hand fracture) and Park Gun-woo (right hamstring pain) were injured, and it was difficult for must-win teams such as Ryu Jin-wook and Kim Jin-ho to take the mound. Even in such a situation, he put up a good fight.

Park Min-woo said, "The players laughed when they saw the article. The manager said, "I think we went to autumn baseball with a drama-like story in a very difficult situation, and Hyung-jun got emotional in the part." "I think he shed tears because he felt that he was playing with his fighting spirit, leaving the victory and defeat," he said. "He had a strong feeling, but he cried, so I said that as a joke." "I'm glad that the players' fighting spirit has been delivered, and I'll try to cry again this year," he said.

It's a tear that I rarely saw when I was the same player. Park Min-woo said, "I almost don't remember (the coach crying). I don't think he spilled it even at the retirement ceremony," he said. Park Min-woo himself also injured his back, but he said, "I don't think it's a fighting spirit compared to other players. Other players showed their fighting spirit without sparing themselves. Don't you think you shouldn't get in there?" he said, showing modesty.

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*This content was translated by AI.