* Translated by Papago

Starnews

"Park Dong Won ran to the point where he ran."" There is a possibility that LG's main catcher will not play in the exhibition game ↑ There is a batting average of 0.385 backup [the site of a water source]

Published :

Kim Dongyoon

*This content was translated by AI.

Park Dong-won of the national team. /Picture = Senior Reporter Kang Young-jo
Park Dong-won of the national team. /Picture = Senior Reporter Kang Young-jo

There is a possibility that Park Dong-won (36), the main catcher of the LG Twins, who returned from the national team, will not play in the remaining exhibition games.

Ahead of the 2026 KBO exhibition game against KT Wiz at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 17th, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "Park Dong-won rarely appears in exhibition games. The defense is ready to play enough so that there is no difficulty in starting the regular season. I don't think I'll be able to play until the last game."

Park Dong-won is one of seven LG players who participated in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC). Among them, Park Dong-won played in all games as the main catcher and led him to the second round (the quarterfinals) for the first time in nine years. Except for Son Joo-young, who is recovering from an elbow injury, six LG players will join from the Incheon SSG Landers on the 18th.

Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "Park Dong-won and Moon Bo-kyung, who have played in many games, are likely to play as designated hitters without defense. Park Hae-min, Shin Min-jae, and Yoo Young-chan are likely to be able to go out from tomorrow (18th). Song Seung-ki said, "I plan to talk about it tomorrow and finalize the pitching schedule."

As it is a position that consumes a lot of physical strength, the main catcher's physical strength arrangement has been a concern for the head coach every year. In particular, Park Dong-won's batting performance varies greatly depending on his physical strength, so the growth of backup catchers was important.

Fortunately, it is positive for now. Lee Joo-heon (23), who is in his fifth year as a member of the team, is performing well with a batting average of 0.385 (5 hits in 13 at-bats) and one homer, four RBIs, and a 0.529 slugging ratio of 0.692 in five exhibition games.

Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "Lee Joo-heon has to play more in this year's game than last year because of Park Dong-won's physical fitness arrangement. Fortunately, it is getting better little by little in the batting and throwing parts. He also explained, "I had experience last year, so I think we should go one step further this year."

"If you said you gave me an experience value last year as the second catcher, I hope you will play a helpful role in the team this year. In the beginning, I will work with Song Seung-ki and go out with Son Joo-young when I need more physical arrangements for Park Dong-won later in the season. When Park Dong-won didn't go out as a catcher last year, he used it a lot as a designated hitter, but I think it would be better to give him a complete break this year," he added.

LG Lee Jooheon. /Photo = Senior Reporter Kim Jin-kyung
LG Lee Jooheon. /Photo = Senior Reporter Kim Jin-kyung

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*This content was translated by AI.

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