“A selection? (Possibility) 0%.”

Park Gun-woo, an outfielder of the Korean national baseball team, met with reporters during a training session before the national team practice game held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Korea on the 3rd and said that right away. He said he would do his best in his role as a backup while waving his hand saying that his chances of being selected were not high.

However, Park Geon-woo is gradually escaping from his ‘expectations’ by pouring everything on the ground. The possibility that the cracks created by Park Kun-woo himself will lead to a miraculous selection is also growing.

The baseball team lost 2-4 in the official World Baseball (WBC) match against the Orix Buffaloes held at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan on the 6th. What stood out the most in the batting lineup that day was Park Gun-woo, who hit a timely hit with 1 RBI in the top of the 9th inning along with Lee Jung-hoo, who hit a multi-hit.

The frustrating flow of Korea, which was trailing 0-4. In the beginning of the ninth inning, Park Geon-woo, who was at bat with a pinch hit from 1st and 2nd base, hit a clean 1st RBI and a timely hit in the middle left to score 1 point for Korea to pursue. It was also the first goal scored by the Korean national team that day. Afterwards, the national team gained one more point through Lee Ji-young’s sacrifice fly and chased Orix 2-4, but could not turn the game around.

In other words, Park Geon-woo saved the national team from a crisis where Korea could have suffered defeat. Even if it was a practice game, losing without scoring could have been the result of hurting one’s pride.

Park Kun-woo’s performance is not limited to Orix. Previously, Park Gun-woo made a surprise appearance as a third baseman in place of Choi Jeong, who was in poor condition, in a domestic practice match against SSG Landers 2nd team held on the 3rd. And Park Gun-woo showed off his long hitting power by hitting two doubles on a home run. He hit a double against Park Se-woong in the 5th inning, a home run against Jeong Cheol-won in the 7th, and another double against Kim Won-jung in the 9th, showing the hottest feeling of hitting in the national team.

However, Park Kun-woo himself has no desire to become a starting player. This is because the ability and experience of the current national team’s main outfield players, consisting of Kim Hyun-soo, Lee Jeong-hoo, and Na Seong-beom, are so outstanding. Park Geon-woo took a supporting role himself.

Rather, it was Park Geon-woo, who was constantly striving to develop himself even during the short call-up period of the national team. Even before the game on the 3rd, Park Kun-woo continued to ask questions about his batting form to national team captain Kim Hyun-soo, a colleague and close senior of his former team, Doosan.

Kim Hyun-soo also seemed to continue to teach and advise his cherished junior, Park Gun-woo, on how to gather strength with his right foot at the stance and hitting point when hitting.

After the training was over, to the reporters who asked about the possibility of being selected, Park Gun-woo said, “(The possibility) is 0%” and made “0” with his fingers. But his face brightened. This is because it was Park Gun-woo, who had said many times before that he would do his best in his role.

Even when he was called up to the national team, he constantly wondered why he was studying. Park Kun-woo said, “(Kim) Hyeon-soo hyung’s nagging hurts my ears,” and even though he trembled for a while, he said, “I really have a lot to learn in the baseball part. He is a good older brother who can tell you things really well when you ask him questions.” 안전놀이터

In this way, even in his national team, Park Kun-woo had no complaints at all even when he was in a position other than his main position. It was only natural that Park Geon-woo, who played the role of the bar and played hard at the training ground as an atmosphere maker, and even showed a hot hitting feeling in the game, caught the attention of the coaching staff.

National team coach Lee Kang-cheol also paid attention to Park Kun-woo’s good batting feel, suggesting that he can be used as a right-handed hitter depending on the opponent’s pitcher. In other words, Park Kun-woo can be fully used as a designated hitter or pinch hitter depending on the situation during the game.

Since the proportion of right-handed hitters in the national team is not high, the use of Park Kun-woo as a pinch hitter will inevitably increase in the future. If Park Hae-min and Choi Ji-hoon, who are classified as the same outfield backup members, are ahead in versatility, Park Kun-woo is showing an outstanding figure in terms of batting.

Park Kun-woo wore his first national team uniform at the 2017 WBC as a replacement for Choo Shin-soo. At the time, he had to watch the national team’s first round elimination without getting a big chance as a substitute member. Compared to that time, he has grown more mature and improved in his skills.

He said that miracles come to those who seek them for themselves. We expect that Park Gun-woo will perform miraculously in leading Korea to victory, exceeding the original prospect of 0%.