*This content was translated by AI.
"Fans from other countries are quiet, but Korean fans sang along to the national anthem..."
He is a veteran, but the meaning of the national team is still different. Every time he participates in an international competition, he can develop more pride and cheer up because of the fans who loudly advocate the national anthem, unlike other countries.
Park Hae-min (36, LG Twins) met with reporters ahead of the 2026 KBO exhibition game held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 19th and said, "I thought there would be only a lot of Japanese fans because it was Tokyo Dome, but there were so many Taiwanese fans against Taiwan, and I always thank my fans when I go to the national team and I get goosebumps whenever the national anthem comes out."
Although the number of Taiwanese fans showing keen affection for baseball was considerable, Korean fans were a hundred. He sang the national anthem loudly, wondering if the players would be discouraged, and his heart reached Park Hae-min and the players.
Park Hae-min said, "Other fans are all quiet, but Korean fans sing along to the national anthem. I get goosebumps whenever the national anthem is played, saying, "Even though it's a small number of people, they sing the national anthem so loudly that they don't feel discouraged," and added, "When we played against Japan at Tokyo Dome, they sang the national anthem among those audiences, against Taiwan, and when we went to Miami. "When I feel that, I get goosebumps," he said.
The power of such fans made Park Hae-min more powerful. In a desperate situation where he can advance to the quarterfinals only by winning more than five points and two runs or less, Park Hae-min came out as a pinch runner and reached second base with his fast feet when hitting a ground ball and headed to third base taking advantage of the opponent's defense error. In the end, it led to a decisive score, and South Korea was able to head to Miami in the U.S.
Park Hae-min said, "It was a really tense situation. In fact, I didn't think (Kim) Do-young would go out as a pinch runner. I thought I would go out if I went to (Ahn) Hyun-min, but I thought a lot about what to do (home) because he said he was going to go out at the time of DOYOUNG. "After the game, I remembered that when I went out as a pinch runner against Australia in 2023, I couldn't go home because I didn't see the catcher go behind the first base when he grounded out to shortstop. "I wondered why this situation keeps happening only in the match against Australia," he said.
The national team was given special treatment after advancing to the second round for the first time in 17 years since 2009. He headed to Miami via chartered plane from Tokyo, Japan, and since then, he has been treated as a state guest with security personnel whenever he moves. Park Hae-min said, "He protected me on the way to the ballpark from the hotel, and the uniform was an away trip, but if I took it off, it was hung on the locker the next day." There were a lot of young players in the national team, so I think it will be an opportunity to have a bigger dream," he said.
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*This content was translated by AI.
