"Wake up!" A 20-year-old South Korean national team player already receiving such words from the manager? The commanding officer said, "I was angry." An unusual public reprimand.

*This content was translated by AI.

Doosan Bears manager Kim Won-hyeong, who rarely offers harsh criticism to players in public settings, unusually spoke out. The subject was national team infielder Park Jun-soon (20).

Ahead of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game against SSG Landers at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 9th, Manager Kim explained to reporters the reasons for substituting Park Jun-soon early during the game.

Manager Kim stated, "It was meant as a reminder to 'wake up'."

He continued, raising his voice: "Of course, that play alone may not have caused issues for that inning or even the entire game. Still, players must maintain greater focus while fielding and play baseball with more concentration."

The game situation involving Park Jun-soon mentioned by Manager Kim occurred during an away game against Hanwha Eagles at Daejeon Hanwha Life Volleyball Park on the 8th, in the bottom of the first inning.

At that time, Hanwha's leadoff batter Sim Woo-jun reached base via a straight fastball walk. The next batter was Peraza. After a full count, on the sixth pitch, Peraza took a look at a curveball from Doosan starter Choi Seung-yong and struck out.

Simultaneously, Sim Woo-jun attempted to steal second base as the first baseman. Park Jun-soon, the Doosan second baseman who received the throw from the catcher, attempted a tag. Initially, an out call was made, but Hanwha's bench requested a video review.

The decision was overturned. It was confirmed that Park Jun-soon failed to touch Sim Woo-jun with his glove during the tagging attempt.

Earlier in the top of the first inning, Park had also struck out twice consecutively against Ryu Hyun-jin's changeup while at bat. Ultimately, before defensive play began in the bottom of the second inning, Manager Kim substituted Park Jun-soon for Yang Seok-hwan. Instead of Yang moving to first base, Kang Seung-ho, who had been playing first base, was shifted to second base.

Manager Kim explained the substitution rationale: "Regardless, when a runner slides past you in front of your eyes during a full-count situation, you need to tag faster. However, this wasn't just a loose play; it was a timing where an out could have been recorded if the tagging motion had simply been executed quickly enough."

He added, "Of course, that play is already in the past. Such plays should not happen again. And honestly, I was quite angry," delivering an unusual public reprimand.

Park Jun-soon is an infielder who joined Doosan Bears as the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft. His signing bonus with Doosan was 260 million won. He was the first infielder selected by Doosan in the first round of the draft in 16 years, since Heo Kyung-min (currently with KT Wiz), who was picked seventh overall in the second round of the 2009 Rookie Draft.

At the time, Doosan General Manager Kim Tae-ryong stated after selecting Park Jun-soon: "We selected an infielder in the first round for the first time in a while. We judged him to be a player who can shoulder one side of Doosan's infield for about 20 years and called him 'the best infielder this year, worthy of his five-tool potential.'" Park had previously won the Baseball Star Award at the 2024 Futures Star Awards. From high school onward, he was recognized as a prospect possessing well-rounded offensive, defensive, and base-running abilities, expected to succeed immediately at the professional level.

Last season, he appeared in 91 games, posting a .284 batting average (80 hits in 282 at-bats), four home runs, 19 RBIs, 34 runs scored, a .307 on-base percentage, and a .379 slugging percentage.

This season, he has played in 90 games, achieving strong statistics: a .303 batting average (105 hits in 347 at-bats), 16 home runs, 15 doubles, five triples, 58 RBIs, 49 runs scored, 23 walks, a .358 on-base percentage, and a .513 slugging percentage. Based on this outstanding performance, he was honored with selection to the 2026 Aichi Nagoya Asian Games Baseball National Team.

Professional baseball is no longer amateur play for students. Will this manager's unusual public reprimand serve as a turning point that transforms him?

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*This content was translated by AI.