*This content was translated by AI.
March, when it was unstable with three consecutive opening losses, seems like a dream. The LG Twins regained the prestige of the defending champion with seven consecutive wins.
LG had a rough start. In the aftermath of the KBO club's most seven players being drafted to the national team at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), LG started the 2026 season with three consecutive losses.
There were a number of injuries and the batting pace was also low because the main players did not have enough experience in the game for the regular season. In fact, the tension of LG players was real because only the KIA Tigers in 2009 and the Samsung Lions in 2011 were in the 45-year KBO history that started with three consecutive losses in the opening and ranked first in the regular season.
After winning 7-2 against KIA in Jamsil on the 1st, the atmosphere was reversed. Koo Bon-hyuk (29), who was considered a leading player at the time, picked a word from captain Park Hae-min (36) from the LG team's group room after three consecutive losses. According to Koo Bon-hyuk, Park Hae-min ranked first in the regular season by 0.5 games even after winning seven consecutive games last year. So even if we start with three consecutive losses this year, we can keep up enough," he said.
Just as the championship was finally confirmed in the final round of the regular season despite a good start last year, this time it was a reverse idea that they could follow as challengers.
However, the person who made the remarks was in a different position. Park Hae-min met with reporters after leading the game against Jamsil SSG Landers to victory with a decisive fake bunt and slash on the 11th. On this day, he was dragged by the opposing starting pitcher's good pitching, but he turned the tide at the end of the game.
Park Hae-min said, "I don't think I'll lose even if I don't say anything about the atmosphere these days. (Im) Chan-kyu minimized the number of runs as a starting pitcher, and the bullpen that came out later didn't allow more points, so I was able to turn it around."
He found it in the sprint of Oh Ji-hwan (36) with the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the first inning against KIA in Jamsil on the 1st. At that time, Oh Ji-hwan was suffering from a severe batting slump with a batting average of 91. In his first at-bat, he also hit a ground ball toward second base, but escaped a double play by sprinting. The initial decision was out, but it was overturned to safe after a video review and LG was able to win with two more points later.
Park Hae-min, who recalled this time, said, "I think I said what I could. I think it's Jihwan's sprint in the first inning of Wednesday's game (April 1) rather than mine. Thanks to this, there was no juxtaposition and additional points were made. That's how Ji-hwan took the lead, and (Hong) Chang-ki also made an infield hit with a sprint at Gocheok, and (Moon) Bo-kyung didn't give up until the end despite strikeouts and played hard to first base."
He said, "I was able to gather all those little things one by one and get on the rise. The pitcher's side is also led well by (Im) Chan-kyu, so there is nothing to worry about. The fielder's side also expressed his sincerity, saying, "We created an atmosphere where seniors such as Chang-ki and Ji-hwan showed them with actions first, so that juniors could follow them on their own."
Last month's experience at WBC was also a great help. Park Hae-min said, "In the match against Dominica, players with such a high ransom sprinted to first base. After seeing that, I asked Jung-hoo, "Why is the U.S. running so fast to first base when it must be physically difficult to play 162 games each?" Then, he explained, "If the U.S. doesn't do it, the team members will say something."
"That's why I'm also trying to play until the end. Later, I was going to tell you this story when a team member who did not sprint came out, but Ji-hwan showed such a play. After the game, I told the fielders, 'Why do you think we won?I asked. I said, "I think I won because of Ji-hwan's sprinting."
The best play at every moment continued even during the winning streak. LG also won 9-1 against the SSG Landers in Jamsil on the 12th, thanks to its intensive defense and hitting, and won seven consecutive games. At the same time, he tied for first place with KT Wiz with 9 wins and 4 losses.
The seniors who lead by example are a great help to the captain who has to do the whole thing together. Park Hae-min said, "I feel really grateful as a captain. Even if you say such things, you can just listen to them and spill them, but they put them into action in the play. When that happens, what I said as a captain can be empowered," he added.
"Old players such as (Oh) Ji-hwan, (Park) Dong-won, (Kim) Jin-sung, and (Lee) Woo-chan create such an atmosphere, so young players naturally follow me even if I talk comfortably. This atmosphere is not something I can do on my own. Our elders made it for us. I really appreciate this," he said.
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
