Park Dong-won, LG's master who missed the Golden Glove, said, "My heart was '(Kang) Minho's block to advance to KS."

Park Dong-won, LG's master who missed the Golden Glove, said, "My heart was '(Kang) Minho's block to advance to KS."

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"As the date of the Golden Glove ceremony approached, the thought grew that I wouldn't be able to receive it. I decided to give Kang a nice bouquet of flowers."

Park Dong-won, LG's home turf, met at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 17th, expressed his feelings about the failure to win the Golden Glove award with a calm voice. Park Dong-won was mentioned as a strong candidate to break the "Yang Eui-ji (Doosan) and Kang Min-ho (Samsung) system" that has continued since 2011, with a batting average of 0.272 with 20 home runs and 80 RBIs (on-base plus slugging) of 0.810 this year. Park Dong-won himself did not hide his greed for winning the first Golden Glove award in his life. At the Real Glove Awards held on the 1st, he said, " (Kang) Min-ho has advanced to the Korean Series for the first time this year, so I hope I get the Golden Glove."스포츠토토

However, this year, the golden glove for the catcher was given to Kang Min-ho once again. Park Dong-won was also preparing to some extent. "I think the Golden Glove vote includes a lot of team performance. For this reason, I knew that if Samsung goes to the Korean Series, my probability of embracing the Golden Glove would be even lower," he said. During the regular season, when Kang Min-ho said, "I will go to the Korean Series, so you should get the Golden Glove," he said, "I thought, 'Min-ho, I won't send you the Korean Series,' but in the end, Min-ho took everything because I and the team were not good enough."

Although he failed to win the Golden Glove Award, he was recognized as the best catcher when it comes to defense capability. While playing 944.2 innings, he recorded a 0.996 ERA and 25 percent stolen base blocking rate, earning him the Real Glove catcher's award (the second consecutive year award) and the KBO catcher's defense award. These awards give him great pride. "In the past, catchers who were not good at defense could not play in games," Park said. "I had a hard time as a rookie because I was not able to play (due to defense), and for that reason, I practiced really hard. I'm very happy that I was rewarded for my efforts back then."

There is another reason why this year is special to Park. Born in 1990, Park was selected as the national baseball team's first catcher at the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12, and displayed stellar performance with six hits (one homer) and three RBIs and a batting average of 0.375 in four games. When asked about the secret of his outstanding performance even though he was a member of the "late national baseball team," he said, "Baseball is a sport in which pitchers are advantageous. It is difficult to hit a pitcher because we don't know what kind of ball he will throw or what trajectory the ball will fly to." "But at some point, I thought, 'It's no use worrying about it.' Recalling the early days of fall baseball in 2013, 14 and 15 seasons, he said, "I made a commitment to play like a young player who knows nothing about anything and do what I can do well."

Although Park Dong-won has had a brilliant year, it remains regrettable that his team's bid for a second consecutive win was canceled. "I am here because LG is here," he said. "I will set both individual and team performances next year." However, he also saw the possibility through this season. "We finished third even though a large number of 2023 winners (such as Ko Woo-seok, Ham Deok-ju and Lee Jung-yong) were missing," he said. "Of course, it did not meet the expectations of the fans, but on the other hand, it is also the year when we confirmed that LG is a solid team."

LG will have to endure throughout the next season without closing pitcher Yoo Young-chan and bullpen pitcher Ham Deok-ju (elbow surgery). LG's maestro had high expectations on outside pitchers. "It will be a great help if (Jang) Hyun-sik, (Kim) Kang Yul-yi, Choi Chae-heung, and Shim Chang-min stay healthy," he said. "We briefly talked with new pitchers over the phone and KakaoTalk, and we will try to help them show good performances by having more conversations going forward."

Park Dong-won is also a strong supporter of younger catchers. When Lee Joo-heon, who started as the first catcher on Sept. 26, asked for advice, he explained how to run the game by adding the personality of then-starter Eliser Hernandez. However, he does not come forward before a younger catcher asks for advice. "All players must have their own plans, and if I give them advice first, they cannot fully realize what they have in mind," Park said. "Even if I fail, I have to put my plan into action before I can understand (failure)." "I just watch younger players and prepare to say this or that when he asks for advice."

Finally, the Dong-A Ilbo asked him how he felt about winning the Kia Tigers' combined championship. "The Kia Tigers did a great job. They were especially strong against us, which made it more difficult for us," he said, before renewing his commitment to change the team's record next year.