Hanwha’s last postseason game was the 4th round of the 2018 semi-playoffs. At that time, the Hanwha starting pitcher was rookie left-hander Park Ju-hong (24). He was expected to be a windbreaker starter throwing 1-2 innings, but he made a strong impression by making a surprise pitching that allowed no hits until one out in the 4th inning against Nexen (now Kiwoom). The game ended with Hanhwa losing and the series ended with 1 win and 3 losses, but Hanwha coach at the time, Han Yong-deok, expected “I found a good player.” 메이저사이트
Park Joo-hong, who was from Gwangju Jeil High School and was nominated for the top spot in Hanwha in the 2nd round of 2018 in the 14th place, was recognized for his soft pitching form and mechanism. He showed promise with the left-handed bullpen in 2018 and started as a starter in 2019, but it wasn’t as great as he had hoped. Even in 2020, when I went to Geelong Korea, an Australian professional baseball team, there was no significant growth.
Eventually, during the season in July 2021, he enlisted as a social worker and left the team for a while. He worked at the Dong-gu Office in Gwangju, his hometown, and was discharged last April. In May, he also changed his name to Park Seong-woong. It contains the meaning of ‘making a hero’s voice’ with the character sound (聲) and hero (ung) (雄).
Park Seong-woong, who is building his body in the Seosan Remaining Army, said, “It is a name that his mother gave him in the hope that he would do well in baseball. His mother studied (Synonymology). He thought about it for a month or two, but he decided that he could do a little better if he started with a new name.”
After returning to the team after being discharged from the call-up, Park Seong-woong, who suffered from a bad shoulder for a while and rehabilitated for about a month, started pitching in a practice game for the remaining army. He said, “It’s not perfect yet, but I’m getting a feel for it by throwing it.” “I missed baseball so much during my social service period. He looked back, saying, “How can he play baseball well?”
He continued, “Looking back, I tried to be too good, but I didn’t enjoy baseball. I try to focus on what I can do well while having a little more fun. My strength is not to run away when dealing with hitters but to actively put them in the strike zone. When I was a rookie, I threw it without knowing it, but as each year passed, I became greedy and tried to do better, so when it didn’t work out, I was greatly frustrated and hurt.”
While he was away from baseball for a while, he changed his mind and steadily built his body. Park Seong-woong, who lost 18kg before the 2020 season and went on a strict diet, also increased his muscle mass with high-intensity weights. He said, “My strength has improved, but I am practicing to apply it to throwing the ball.”
Compared to before his enlistment, the Hanwha mound has improved noticeably both quantitatively and qualitatively. The competition for entry into the first team has intensified, but the left-handed bullpen is somewhat lacking, so Park Seong-woong has a chance to return. Park Sung-woong said, “There are a lot of very good pitchers. While watching the game, I try to learn from our pitchers and imitate the good points.” He is more mature than before enlisting and is working hard to become a better player, so I hope the fans will also watch over him.”