“I wish I could have ended it cleanly and started tomorrow on a good note…I’m sorry to the team.”
Even though he had three hits, including the game-winning run, to help the Doosan Bears snap a three-game losing streak, infielder Park Kye-beom was not happy.
Park went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs as the No. 7 hitter and shortstop in Doosan’s 7-4 victory over the LG Twins in the 2023 KBO Baseball League at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Sunday.
Doosan’s Park Kye-beom led the way with a big hit against LG in Jamsil on Sunday. Photo (Jamsil Seoul)=Chun Jeong-hwan Reporter스포츠토토
Park’s bat was hot from the start of the game. With runners on first and second and two outs in the top of the second inning with the score tied at 0-0, he took advantage of a four-seam, 140-kilometer slider from LG starter Casey Kelly and lined a single into the left-field seats. Park’s hit would prove to be the game-winner as Doosan never allowed the tying run to score.
After taking a breather with a grounder to shortstop in the fourth inning and a fly ball to center field in the sixth, Park was sharp again in the top of the eighth inning with runners on second and third with Doosan leading 5-2. He took a six-pitch 133-kilometer slider from opposing right-handed reliever Lee Jung-yong and lined it for a two-run double that dropped into the right field seats. It was a single that instantly turned the tide in Doosan’s favor.
It wasn’t the only good thing that happened. In the bottom of the ninth, Park Kye-beom failed to catch Hong Chang-ki’s grounder two batters later, allowing a run to score. Park Hae-min followed with a single to right to put runners on first and second, and Kim Hyun-soo followed with a double to right to close the gap. Fortunately, Doosan reliever Hong Gun-hee struck out the next batter, Austin Dean, to prevent any further damage.
Park was not smiling when he was interviewed after the game. He said, “I lost the ball in the moment. (Hong) Chang-ki is fast, so I tried to throw it in a hurry, but I think it became an error,” he said, adding, “If we had finished cleanly and faced tomorrow, we could have started again in a good mood…I’m sorry for the error at the end. (Hong) Gun-hee-hyung’s pitch count has increased.”
Despite the mistake, Park Kye-beom was the single most important factor in Doosan’s victory. “I had two chances, but fortunately, I was able to take care of them, so I felt good,” he said of his at-bats.
“I got a hit in my first at-bat, and in my last at-bat, I was honestly praying behind my back that (Kang) Seung-ho-hyung would solve it. Fortunately, he solved it with a pushing grounder, and that made me feel comfortable. So I was able to hit comfortably,” he said of his two-run double in the top of the eighth inning.
Doosan has been searching for a starting shortstop to replace Kim Jae-ho this season. Recently, Park Kye-beom has been close to the position. However, he said, “(I) don’t consider myself a starter. I have to play all the multi-positions. There’s pressure, and I’m preparing for it.” “Even if I play 1,000 games, I don’t think I’ll be able to play with a stable mind. If you enjoy it, you enjoy it, but I think you should also have pressure. I’m trying to enjoy it more.”
With the win, Doosan snapped a three-game losing streak. Their season record is 30 wins, one draw and 29 losses. A loss would have jeopardized their 5-percent winning percentage, but they managed to pull through. This was due to the leadership of the veteran players.
“During the losing streak, I think the players were really down,” Park said. “After yesterday’s (16th) game against LG Electronics in Jamsil (a 4-7 loss to Doosan), (Heo) Kyung-min and his brothers said, ‘Let’s not get down in the dumps,’ ‘Let’s do what we want to do and have fun,’ and ‘We’re in fifth place now, we’re not doing badly, we can go up. Let’s do it together’ and ‘Let’s have fun,’ and ‘We’re in fifth place now, we can go up.’ I think it paid off.”