“I wasn’t in a position to see what happened next.”
A season-opening start and a second stint on the bench. Why wasn’t he given a second chance?
SSG Landers Submarine pitcher Park Jong-hoon was designated for assignment on Aug. 28. SSG called up right-hander Lee Eon-wook to replace Park.
Jong-hoon was sent down to the second team just one day after his first start of the season. In his start against the Incheon Hanwha Eagles on July 27, he allowed one run (unearned) on one hit, two walks, and six strikeouts in two innings of work. Only one run was earned, and it was an unearned run that resulted from a fielding error. But it’s the content that matters. Both the first and second innings were tough, as he gave up six walks. That’s why SSG activated its bullpen in the third inning and brought in long reliever Song Young-jin. After losing the early lead, SSG eventually lost the game 3-1 and fell to their second straight loss.
After the game, Lee had a brief meeting with Park Jong-hoon, who was sent down to the second team. “I explained the situation and gave him the right feedback. 스포츠토토 I’m down to the second team and working hard, and if the second team coach gives me a recommendation, I’ll call you back anytime. I told him to keep working hard and not to give up,” he recalls.
He prepared harder than anyone else.
After returning from elbow surgery, you struggled for over a year. He lost more than 10 kilos and was desperate to get back to his old form, and everyone in the organization knew that.
However, the shaky results of his first start of the season, in which he gave up six walks, left him with nothing to say. Lee explained the reasoning behind removing Park Jong-hoon from the roster after just one game, saying, “I thought that if we keep him in the game, the batters will be tired. There are variables about (fifth starter) Oh Won-seok, and we don’t have many bullpen pitchers, so I thought it would be too much to keep him in the game.”
He also felt sorry for Jong-hoon. “I saw Jong-hoon yesterday, and I felt so bad for him. I felt bad because I know he worked harder than anyone else, but we’re a team, so we had to make a decision,” Lee added.
Next week’s starting rotation will be filled by Song Young-jin. Song is expected to start on April 2 against the Incheon Doosan Bears.
