Hampered by injury, Park Byung-ho looks to pinch hit his way to glory

Park Byung-ho hits a two-run home run at the bottom of the eighth in a game against the NC Dinos at Suwon KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Monday. [YONHAP]

Newly-crowned KBO home run king Park Byung-ho got one trip to the plate as the KT Wiz took on the NC Dinos on Monday and he made it count, smashing a two-run blast over the fence to lock in a 5-2 win for the Wiz.

KT had to win their last two games of the season on Monday and Tuesday to lock in third place in the regular season standing and get an automatic ticket to the first round of the playoffs. The fourth-place team has to first play the Wildcard series, although they enter with a one game advantage.

Park’s big fly on Monday helped secure the first win for the Wiz. As of press time Tuesday, the Seoul club were set to face the LG Twins in the final game of the season that evening.

Whether the Wiz end up playing in the Wildcard series or jumping straight to the playoffs proper, Park is set to play an unusual role in the postseason.

Park, one of the deadliest sluggers in KBO history, had an explosive season at the plate, hitting 35 home runs as of press time Tuesday to lead the league by a significant margin.

This season marked Park’s ninth consecutive year with over 20 long balls in the KBO, excluding 2016 and 2017 when he plied his trade in the United States. After hovering around the 20 mark for the last two years, this season also marks his return to the 30s for the first time since the KBO de-juiced its ball three years ago.

Park is such a power threat at the plate that he famously hit over 50 home runs in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons, has won the KBO home run title six times and still holds the league’s all-time single season RBI record, at 146.

But in the run up to this year’s playoffs, Park was taken out of commission after rupturing a ligament in his ankle on Sept. 10. Despite the potentially season-ending injury, 36-year-old Park opted not to undergo surgery, instead spending just under a month rehabilitating and rejoining the Wiz on Oct. 7.

Back in the squad he may be, but Park’s injury means he is unable to run the bases. That leaves KT manager Lee Kang-chul with only one option: Bench the deadliest bat in the KBO until a crucial moment, bring him out as a pinch hitter and then immediately replace him with a pinch runner if he gets on base.

It’s what Korean media have started to refer to as “one shot, one kill” baseball, and so far, it’s working.

Park has made three trips to the plate since his return as of press time Tuesday, against the Kia Tigers on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8 and the Dinos on Oct. 10.

Although nothing came of his first attempt against the Tigers, Park hit bombs in the next two appearances, racking up a total of five RBIs across the two games.

Maintaining anything close to that 0.666 home run percentage across Tuesday’s game and the rest of the postseason seems practically impossible, but if Park is able to keep smashing long balls it could prove crucial for the Wiz, who enter this year’s playoffs as the defending champion.

For both Park and Lee, the approach also involves significant challenges: The pressure on Park to produce in his single plate appearance will be immense, while Lee has to choose the exact moment to put him into the game without harming his existing lineup.

If KT beat LG on Tuesday they will advance straight to the first round of the playoffs where they will take on the winner of the Wildcard series, scheduled to begin on Oct. 15.

If they lose to LG, KT will head to the Wildcard series where they will take on the Kia Tigers. In that case, the start of the Wildcard series will be delayed by a day to Thursday to give the Wiz time to rest.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]