“I want to be the pitcher that the team looks for when it’s in trouble.”
Since Yoon Young-chul (KIA Tigers) joined the pro league after graduation, right-hander Park Geon-woo (aged 18) has been in charge of the mound at Chungam High School. He has been an ace player since his sophomore year. At the 58th Presidential High School Baseball Competition that recently ended in Pohang, he won relief victories in the round of 16, 8 and 4 teams. In this year’s three games, he posted nine hits, 28 strikeouts and two runs in 18 ⅔ innings, three wins and an ERA of 0.96.
He had 22 wins and three losses with an ERA of 1.82 and a 236 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.89 in 203 innings in 51 games in his high school career. This is close to the 23 wins and 236 strikeouts that he garnered in his high school years. As a second grader, he played 94 ⅓ innings, which slightly reduced his fastball speed. However, as he prepared for this season, he recovered a lot of his speed by steadily performing both rest and training.
Currently, he can use up to 147-148 kilometers of four-seam fastball, and he has honed this year’s splitter along with pitching, curveball, and slider. At the high school level, he is a right-handed pitcher with fairly good game management skills and commands. Analysts say that he can be nominated in the first round of the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft, which will take place in September.
When he was a fourth grader, Park joined baseball through the youth baseball team in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Since then, he dreamed of becoming an elite baseball player. A boy who used to enjoy throwing a ball at a wall in a neighborhood building is about to become a professional baseball player.
Park Geon-woo, whom I recently met at somewhere in Seoul, said, “I didn’t study bad. Actually, I didn’t want to study, but I had to do it. Baseball was a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed throwing balls.” I felt the fun of baseball in the youth baseball team and practiced a lot of the basics of baseball when I was in Chungam Middle School. I endured it silently even though it was hard.
Park Kun-woo’s mother said, “There is a youth baseball team in Seongdong-gu. I remember Gun-woo saying that if he wants to become a professional baseball player, he has to join the team. He had to be drafted in high school and had to enter baseball middle and high school, so he joined the team. He said, “I walked silently after watching just one baseball game.”
Recalling his youth baseball days, Park said, “That was the first time I did it properly. I was very nervous back then. I couldn’t do it while enjoying it. But I think I had the most fun back then.” If you felt the fun of baseball when you were young, you started to deepen your depth when you were in Chungam Middle School.
Park Geon-woo said, “When I was in middle school, Won Yong-mook, coach, gave me a lot of lower body and physical fitness exercises. That’s how I went to high school. When I was a freshman, I came out 137-138 kilometers, but when I exercised steadily, I came out up to 150 kilometers. At some point in high school, third graders swung and missed my ball a lot. I thought I had improved my skills.”
There was a controversy over his overwork. However, Park said, “I don’t think it’s overkill.” Regarding Lee Young-bok, who is well known to baseball fans through JTBC’s strongest baseball league, he said, “He is a hot guy. He is very competitive. He is really good outside the ground.”
Coach Lee Young-bok has not given Park an autograph since his sophomore year. “When I was in middle school, my coach gave it to me, but when I came to high school, my coach gave it to me since my freshman year. I gave it to him only when it was important, but he kept giving it to me since my sophomore year,” Park said. “Playing ball games also helped me greatly improve my understanding of baseball and my ability to manage games.” 스포츠토토
Spending a year with Yoon, who is two years his senior, was of great help as well. “When I see him, I wonder how he can control his strength and weakness so easily,” Park said. “I knew when and how to throw a ball. Even today, the two get acquainted by talking on the phone often. During his presidency, Yoon told Park not to come to Seoul if he fails to win. His friendship and trust are felt amid violent jokes.
He spends the longest time with pitching coach Byun Si-won. “It analyzes how you can deal with batters easily. I also plan my game strategies, but the coach tells me what to do. He also tells me how to improve my condition when I am not playing.”
He will also study and polish pitches. “It was a fastball, slider-to-pitch, but I learned how to throw. I tried to polish it by throwing it similar to a fastball. I started to learn the splitter because I needed a ball that falls down as the slider and curve are bent sideways,” Park said.
He said he was disappointed to win the runner-up prize in the presidential cup. Due to the limited number of pitches, he could not advance to the final against Ansan Technical High School. “I think I would have won if I went out,” Park said with a smile. “I’m sad to win the runner-up prize, but my team members worked hard.”
After finishing the Asian Youth Baseball Championship in Taiwan, Park will realize his dream of becoming a professional through the KBO draft in September. He said, “My favorite team is the LG Twins, and I will not be greedy about starting pitchers.” He also said, “I have already experienced ABS and pitch clock, and I am confident in adapting.”
“I like LG. I supported Ko Woo-suk (Miami Marlins). I want to play against Hong Chang-ki,” Park said. “I want to play a role like Kim Taek-yeon of Doosan Bears who definitely stops one inning in the bullpen. It’s hard for me to go to a pro team right away and make a starting pitcher. I have a dream to become a starting pitcher, but I need to go to a pro team and play the role that the team wants. I want to be a pitcher when the team is in a difficult situation. Even if I am not a starting pitcher, I want to be selected in the first round.”
In addition, Park Geon-woo said of ABS and pitch clock, “ABS has been done since last year. The more I do it, the more I get used to it. I’ve played pitch clock in the youth team. It doesn’t take long (with the time limit) when I throw my pitching temperature. I don’t care about ABS and pitch clock.”
I wanted to ask this question. Do you know Park Geon-woo (NC Dinos) with the same name? Of course, Park knows who he is. However, he said, “I’ve never met him. I want to see him.” If nominated by NC, you can play with him. I can’t wait to see his rookie draft in September.