Park Dong-won (33), a catcher for the LG Twins of the Korean baseball organization, gave a thumbs-up to former LG starting pitcher Im Chan-kyu (31), who is a free agent (FA).
Park Dong-won met with reporters after the ‘2023 Magumagu Real Glove Award’ ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on Jan. 1 and said, “(Im) Chanyu is an indispensable pitcher for our team,” adding, “I hope he doesn’t think about running away.”
“If he runs away, he’s going to get beat up by our hitters,” he said, joking that his ERA will go up dramatically.
“I will also play a big role in raising his ERA,” he said, adding, “I hope he stays with LG as long as possible.”
Park played a crucial role in LG’s Korean Series (KS) victory this season.
He hit a two-run game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth inning of Game 2 of the KS against the KT Wiz to tie the game at 3-4, and again in the sixth inning of Game 3 of the KS to make it a two-run game.
LG won the championship with a four-game sweep of KT, led by Park Dong-won’s performance.
Park hopes to challenge for a second straight title in the new season with the winning team.
This is why he laid down the law to free agent Im Chan-kyu through the media.
“In fact, Chanyeogyu was in so much trouble that he chose to become a free agent,” Park Dong-won said, adding, “Even though I said this, he will probably get good treatment.”
“I even called him and told him not to worry,” he continued, “I hope he signs a good contract with good terms.”
Park Dong-won received 10 million won from coach Yeom Kyung-yup right after winning the KS.
Before the KS, Yeom promised to give 10 million won out of his own pocket to the player who played the best in the series other than the Most Valuable Player (MVP).
After winning the KS, Yeom said that he would give Park Dong-won and bullpen Yoon Young-chan 5 million won each because they played equally well.
After hearing this, Park Dong-won went to Yim at the victory dinner and suggested, “Give both players 10 million won each,” which Yim readily accepted.
“The day after the championship, the coach gave me 10 million won,” Park Dong-won said, “and I used the money to buy my wife a bag.” 사설토토