*This content was translated by AI.
LG Twins winning captain Park Hae-min (36) left a bone-chilling word for the team that is trying to win the Korean Series for the second consecutive time.
Park Hae-min met with reporters at Incheon International Airport before leaving the 2026 LG Spring Camp on the 22nd and said, "I think the players should focus a little more if they do not want to repeat the history of 2024. I don't know if I'm going to join the WBC 2nd camp, but if I do, I have a short time (to be in LG camp) so I'm trying to lead the team better," he said emphatically.
LG, which won its fourth integrated championship last year, is trying to win its second consecutive Korean Series title. The second consecutive Korean Series is a difficult task to see in modern baseball as Doosan Bears are the last in the 2015-2016 season. LG has already failed once. After winning the Korean Series in 2023, he ranked third in the league in 2024. He set out to protect the team so as not to follow in that footsteps.
He re-signed all three foreign players and gave Park Hae-min, who declared FA, a four-year, 6.5 billion won contract to stay. In response, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop expressed confidence at the New Year's greeting on the 6th, saying, "This is the fourth season in LG, and I think it will be the spring camp that we will meet in the most stable and ready state."
Captain Park Hae-min, who led the team with outstanding leadership last year, claimed to be a military leader. This is the role that Kim Hyun-soo used to play. Kim Hyun-soo, who helped Park Hae-min to win last year's Korean Series, signed a three-year, 5 billion won FA contract after the season and headed to KT Wiz.
"Since the coach says he is confident, the players should focus on improving their physical condition without getting hurt," Park Hae-min said. "I think there will be good results if we are not drunk on the afterglow of the championship like in 2024." "I think the players will also be aware of that because they have experienced something in camp in 2024. (Kim)Hyun-soo played a lot of that role, and I'm going to talk strongly in this camp because he's out," he added.
Kim Hyun-soo's absence is not just felt in the dugout. Last year, Kim had a batting average of 0.298 (144 hits in 483 at-bats) with 12 homers and 90 RBIs in 140 regular-season games and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.806. In the Korean Series, he also played in five games before winning the MVP title with a batting average of 0.529 (9 hits in 17 at-bats), one homer, eight RBIs, and an on-base percentage of 0.636 slugging percentage of 0.706.
Coach Yeom expected that Lee Jae-won, a promising right-handed pitcher who returned from bombing the Futures League last year, will fill the gap. Park Hae-min affirmed the wish and took a swipe.
"I think (Kim Hyun-soo's absence) will be a good opportunity for those players," Park said. However, I don't want you to take the position for granted. I hope the players will rush hard to take that one spot," he said with strength. He said, "If you think that opportunity is natural, the team can be rather weak. I hope that the competition for that one spot will have a positive synergy effect for the team."
In the same vein, the reason why they didn't pay much attention to the Hanwha Eagles, KIA Tigers, and Samsung Lions, who made tremendous reinforcement this winter. Park Hae-min said, "If you win, you will be challenged by nine other clubs. However, rather than caring about the other nine teams, I think it depends on how we overcome the competition within our team and how we do it. First of all, winning a fight with ourselves is the first thing," he stressed.
I don't want to be left alone in the competition. In particular, since one year and one year are different, the level of alertness is higher than ever. Park Hae-min said, "If you don't feel old, you're lying. I definitely feel it when I play with young players, but I try not to think about it as much as possible. I want to play baseball as long as possible, so I'm working hard. Our team's training part is so well done. If we communicate a little more and prepare, it will not be too much," he said.
"It's the first season of the FA contract, so I feel more responsible. I have an idea that I should lead the team well because the club gave me a good contract. He also said, "I think you have to win at the end to smile, so I hope the players think about that a little more."
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*This content was translated by AI.
