Pitchers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) often talk about staring down a hitter from Major League Baseball (MLB) and striking him out.
Park Yeong-hyun, new closer for the KT Wiz, is cut from a different cloth.
Of course, he would love to face players from the big leagues, and it appears as though he will have a chance to do just that later this month as a member of the South Korean national team.
“Team Korea,” as it is dubbed, will face the San Diego Padres at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on March 17. It will be one of two exhibition games that the Padres will play in South Korea before facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in historic regular season opening series on March 20 and 21. Though the national team hasn’t been officially announced, Wiz manager Lee Kang-chul revealed Wednesday, after returning home from spring training in Japan, that Park will get called up for the occasion.
Asked if he had any particular hitter he wanted to face from the Padres, Park said without a moment of hesitation, “It’s M
anny Machado.”
But it’s not for reasons that most other pitchers would give.
“I’d like to serve up a home run to him,” Park deadpanned in a scrum with reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. “I’ve been following his career for a long time, and I think he’s a great player.”
Machado is a six-time All-Star and the 2020 National League (NL) Silver Slugger winner at third base. He finished third in NL MVP voting that same year, and then finished second in 2022. Machado’s image has graced promotional posters for the upcoming Padres-Dodgers series, and he is sure to draw a ton of eyeballs while in South Korea.
Jokes aside, Park said he is a little behind schedule in his preparation for the new KBO season, which starts March 23. During the Wiz’s camp in Okinawa, Park wasn’t able to pitch in any games because of inclement weather.
“I just got unlucky. I’d have to throw in game situations to figure out where I am physically. So I am a bit worried in that regard,” Park said. “But we have the pres
eason coming up (starting Saturday), and I’ll have to go in with a fresh mindset.”
Manager Lee said earlier Wednesday that he had reservations about sending Park to the national team for exhibition games, when he’d rather keep him by his side to build him up for the regular season.
“I think he may get carried away pitching in front of a big crowd and may hurt himself,” Lee said.
When told of the skipper’s comment, Park said, “I think I’d rather overpace myself.”
“I honestly don’t have high expectations for myself,” Park added. “I am just going to go up there and throw as hard as I can. Results in those games aren’t so important to me. My focus is on getting ready for the season.”
After serving as a setup man for two seasons, Park, 20, will step into the closer’s role this year, after former ninth-inning man Kim Jae-yoon left in free agency.
“I’ve been trying to guard against overthinking and to turn some negative thoughts into positive ones,” Park said. “As the closer, I know I have to deal with a lot o
f challenges. So it’s just about staying positive.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency