Park Byung-ho, 38, is starting over at Samsung. Park, who had decided to retire but was given a new chance through a trade, said he wanted to express his sincere gratitude to the KT organization.
KT announced the trade of Park Byung-ho after the game against Jamsil Doosan on the 28th. The one-for-one trade with Samsung infielder Oh Jae-il opened up a new path for Byung-ho.
“Manager (Lee Kang-cheol) and general manager (Nado Hyun) really wanted me to finish well, so they recognized my new team and made the trade happen,” Park Byung-ho told reporters shortly after the trade was announced. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
After Park Byung-ho’s poor batting performance on the opening day of the season, KT brought in Moon Sang-chul, who showed good results and replaced Park, and KT has been thinking a lot about Park’s position. This is because he is a legendary player who has won the home run title six times, the most in history.
The biggest concern was for the player himself. Since April, he had many talks with the club, and after the Suwon Kiwoom game on April 25, he had a meeting with manager Lee Kang-cheol and general manager Nado Hyun, and even talked about ‘waiver announcement’.
Park explained the conversation and the situation in detail in a phone call with reporters on the afternoon of the 28th. It was before the trade was finalized.
“I’ve been talking to the club since April, but after two months of no progress, I didn’t want to be a burden on the club anymore. (“I was very embarrassed to play as a substitute when my salary is 700 million won,” he said, adding, “I was very embarrassed to play as a substitute. At the game that day (25th), some of Kiwoom’s old fans came with my jersey. Some fans asked me, ‘Why aren’t you playing? I was embarrassed, so I went to see the coach after the game,” he explained.
The first thing Park Byung-ho talked about was his retirement. “I fully understand that the team’s situation is unavoidable, so I had talked about transferring to another team. But after two months, I realized that I was worth less and less, so I told them I would retire that day. I told him that I was going to retire that day and not take the rest of my salary,” he said, ”but he insisted. He said he’d help me tie up loose ends at the end, and 메이저토토사이트 we talked about trying to get a trade going again, and if that didn’t work, we talked about waivers, and I told him that if no one wanted me when I waived, then I’d give up my remaining salary and really retire.”
KT began to try again later that day to resume the aborted trade. While talks with Samsung were ongoing, reports surfaced on the 28th that Park Byung-ho had requested a waiver. All kinds of speculations poured in. Misconceptions such as Park being greedy for playing time, blocking the way for his juniors, being greedy for money, and being ungrateful were all rampant throughout the day. However, KT, who had already been in talks with Samsung since the 27th to discuss a trade, was unable to provide any details. “We don’t intend to part ways like that,” they admitted, “but we’re trying to convince them. We’re trying to convince them.” Up until this point, they hadn’t told Park Byung-ho whether or not the trade was going through, and they didn’t want him to know until it was finalized because he might be disappointed.
Park was also forced to remain silent for a day after the misunderstanding.
“Since we spoke on the 25th, I’ve been quietly waiting. He was looking into the trade again, but today (28th), the story of the waiver request was published. There were a lot of speculations and misunderstandings, and I was very upset. It wasn’t like we were fighting with the club or anything like that, but it was very frustrating because we didn’t know what to say.”
KT had actually been trying to trade him to some clubs since April, but it was too early in the season to make a deal. As the situation stagnated, Park Byung-ho decided to retire without receiving the rest of his salary, which the KT club encouraged. After that meeting on the 25th, KT actively pursued the trade again, and on the 27th, they met with Samsung in earnest and announced the agreement on the evening of the 28th.
Park Byung-ho has nothing but gratitude. Two years ago, when he first became eligible for free agency, he was effectively ignored by his original team, Kiwoom, due to the high transfer fee, and KT signed 메이저사이트 him to a three-year, maximum three billion won contract. Park immediately hit 35 home runs that year, becoming the first player to win the home run title in three years and winning the Golden Glove again. With Byung-ho at the top of the order, KT was able to make a strong run in the last two years, when Kang Baek-ho was out and foreign hitters were lacking.
KT hoped to avoid the worst-case scenario of losing Park Byung-ho, the league’s all-time home run king, on waivers. With Moon Sang-cheol now blossoming into a starter, the prospect of leaving Byung-ho behind was on Lee’s mind. KT knew that there would definitely be a situation where they would need to utilize Byung-ho as the season progressed, but they also understood the player’s situation and position, so they made a last-ditch effort to trade him.
“Two years ago, KT took me in when I was struggling. I played fall baseball with the players here for two years, and with the full support of the club, I was able to become a home run king once again,” he said. ‘This time, I’m really grateful to manager Lee Kang-cheol, general manager Nado Hyun, and the KT organization for pulling me in a good direction and helping me in the last part of my baseball life, even though I was about to quit.’
Park Byung-ho is now leaving Suwon for Daegu. “I will play my best even if I go to Samsung,” Park said. “When I first came to KT, I am grateful for the happy memories of Suwon fans rejoicing over my home runs and feeling that they loved me and accepted me as one of their own. I apologize to the club, my teammates, and the fans for the disturbance I caused, even though it wasn’t true. I won’t be able to finish with them, but I will always support KT,” he said.
Park Byung-ho visited the KT players who played in the locker room and said goodbye to them for the last time. He also bowed his head to coach Lee Kang-cheol and expressed his deep gratitude.