"It was a place where I could only play if I made it to the first division" — For Park Byung-ho, the legend with 418 home runs, Jamsil remained special [Jamsil On-Site]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

A high school prospect who entered the league after being selected in the first round of the LG Twins' draft in 2005 has now become a legend with 418 career home runs in the KBO League. He blossomed at the Kiwoom Heroes, fulfilling a dream he could not achieve during his playing days, but Jamsil Baseball Stadium, where it all began, remained special. Park Byung-ho (40), coach of the Kiwoom Heroes, bid farewell to the starting point and final stop of his 21-year baseball career.

Coach Park met with StarNews before the "Jamsil The Last Inning" game held at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 14th, saying, "Since I also entered as a rookie from LG, Jamsil was my first professional baseball stadium. When I was young, Jamsil Stadium was a place where I could only play if I made it to the first division. So there are memories of really working hard. It is very disappointing that such a place is disappearing. In fact, since retiring last year, I have not been able to visit Jamsil Stadium even once while coaching my juniors, so I am grateful for this invitation."

During his time at Seongnam High School, he was a powerful hitter prospect who gained nationwide attention by hitting home runs in four consecutive at-bats. LG selected Coach Park with the first overall pick in the 2005 KBO Rookie Draft, expecting him to grow into the next-generation center of their lineup. However, the professional stage was not easy. In his debut year of 2005, he managed a .190 batting average and three home runs in 79 games, and the following year he stayed at a .162 batting average and five home runs in 48 games. Even after completing his military service at the Armed Forces Sports Agency (Sangmu) and returning, he struggled to unleash his potential with nine home runs in 2009 and seven in 2010.

Of course, there were hopeful moments. In 2010, he hit home runs in four consecutive games, briefly showing his potential as LG's center hitter. However, it did not lead to consistent performance. Ultimately, in July 2011, he was traded to the Nexen Heroes (now Kiwoom), ending his era with Jamsil as his home ground.

That choice changed Coach Park's baseball life. At Nexen, he secured consistent playing opportunities under the trust of Manager Kim Si-jin (68) and the coaching staff. He won his first home run championship with 31 home runs in 2012, followed by 52 home runs in 2014 and 53 in 2015, setting a historic record as the first player in KBO League history to hit 50 home runs in two consecutive years. He also made his way to the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Even after growing into the face of Kiwoom's lineup, Jamsil was a stage that gifted Coach Park special records. On September 3, 2019, in a game against Doosan at Jamsil, he hit his 30th home run of the season, a two-run homer over the right field fence, off Yoon Myung-jun in the top of the eighth inning. It was a historic moment as he became the second player in KBO League history to reach 30 home runs for six consecutive years, following former Manager Lee Seung-yeop.

On October 10 of that year, in Game 4 of the LG wild card series (jun-playoffs), he hit a solo homer with a carry distance of 135 meters over the center field fence off Lim Chan-gyu. It was his eighth career home run in the jun-playoffs, breaking the previous record of seven held by Lee Beom-ho, now manager of the KIA Tigers. In that series, Coach Park was selected as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the jun-playoffs with a .375 batting average, three home runs, and six RBIs in four games. Kiwoom had advanced to the playoffs with a series record of three wins and one loss.

Coach Park also spoke candidly about Jamsil's spacious outfield. He explained, "Jamsil Baseball Stadium is big. When I was hitting 50 home runs, I came as an away team, so while I did hit home runs, the fence is the farthest, so I tried not to be conscious of it. That is because that is how home runs come out more."

He then revealed his batting philosophy, saying, "First, you must not think about the stadium itself. The same applies to small stadiums. It is true that psychologically, because it feels close, tension builds up and you cannot hit well. Whether it is a small or large stadium, you should not be conscious of it."

Afterwards, Coach Park went through the KT Wiz and Samsung Lions before announcing his retirement from active duty last year. It was a brilliant playing career featuring 1,768 games, a .272 batting average (1,554 hits in 5,704 at-bats), 418 home runs, and 1,244 RBIs, along with six home run championships, two regular season Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, and six first baseman Golden Glove awards.

The team he returned to as a coach after retirement was also the Heroes. Park Byung-ho stated in November last year, "It is because of the Heroes that I could come back," and held his official retirement ceremony at Gocheok Sky Dome in April this year. He is scheduled to oversee batting instruction for both Kiwoom's reserve team and Futures League team starting from the 2027 season.

At Jamsil on this day, he reunited with power hitters who dominated an era, including Jang Jong-hoon, Lee Seung-yeop, Lee Dae-ho, and Kim Tae-gyun. Park Byung-ho said, "Senior players like Jang Jong-hoon, Lee Seung-yeop, as well as players like Lee Dae-ho and Kim Tae-gyun, are first basemen just like me. It was so good to have played alongside them, and it is nice that we can meet again like this."

Coach Park said with a smile, "Other senior players probably have more memories of Jamsil Baseball Stadium than I do. Today, as the youngest, I would like to just get along well and build memories." He expressed anticipation for the newly born Jamsil dome stadium, adding, "I think it is good that each team's stadium has its own characteristics rather than being too round."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original