He might be considered an established player now, but LG coach Yoon Kyung-yeop’s “nurturing of Park Myung-keun” continues. This time, the stage is ‘making an all-star’. 메이저놀이터
The KBO announced the best 12 candidates for the All-Star team on the morning of the 1st, submitted by 10 clubs. Park Myung-geun was nominated for LG’s Best 12 in the middle relief pitcher category. Of the 120 nominees from 10 teams, only two are high school rookies, Park and Lotte’s Kim Min-seok (outfielder).
In 23 games, Park went 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA with four shutouts and five saves, and in 12 games in May, he allowed just one run in 11 innings. That’s not exactly an All-Star caliber performance. Still, as a rookie, he would have been considered for an honorable mention, but Yeom Kyung-yup pushed for Park Myung-geun.
In a briefing against Lotte in Jamsil on January 1, Yeom revealed that there was a strategic reason why he chose the rookie Park Myung-geun for the Best 12 list instead of Jeong Woo-young, the youngest player to reach 100 holds.
“I think that even if I don’t get selected (to the Best 12), I will go to the All-Star Game even as a recommended player, and it’s good to have that experience. I’m sorry for (Jung) Woo-young, but he’s already experienced a lot, and I wanted to give Myung-geun experience,” Yoon said. “Originally, I would have put Woo-young and (Go) Woo-seok. But I thought that if Myung-geun had that experience (playing in the All-Star Game), he would grow faster, and he did well enough to understand. I thought there was a good reason for that, so I put Myung-geun in instead of Woo-young.”
Coach Yeom has always valued titles. He believes that the impression of an individual title can change a player. That’s why he expects Park Myung-geun to win the Rookie of the Year. Before that, the title of high school rookie all-star is the icing on the cake.
Postscript. Yeom Kyung-yup laughed that he didn’t think about ‘Im Chan-kyu instead of Plutko’. Partly because the best 12 were based on performance, and partly because Plutko has been a steady pillar of the starting rotation since the start of the tournament, he needs to be recognized. “I don’t think (Casey) Kelly is going to be upset. After all, her performance speaks for itself.” Plutko is 8-0 (tied for first in wins) with a 1.88 ERA (third) after throwing seven scoreless innings against Lotte on April 1.
Meanwhile, fan voting for the All-Star Game will be open for 21 days from May 5 to 25. Fans can vote on the KBO website, the official KBO app, and the ShinhanSOL app, powered by KBO League title sponsor Shinhan Bank. The Best 12 will be selected based on 70 percent fan votes and 30 percent player votes.