It is unprecedented. Why has 'defensive master' Park Hae-min disappeared from the LG Twins' starting lineup?
LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yup met with reporters ahead of the third game of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League season against Doosan Bears at the Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 13th, where he announced Park Hae-min's exclusion from the starting lineup.
Park Hae-min signed a free agent contract with LG for a total of 6 billion won over four years before the 2022 season, and he is an unwavering starting center fielder for the Twins. This season, he has been responsible for the starting center fielder position in 14 of the 16 games, but he will start on the bench for the final game of the weekend series against their rivals.
Before the game, manager Yeom Kyung-yup, asked if there were concerns despite a frightening record of 14 wins and 2 losses, replied, "Why would there be no concerns? There are concerns about everything. It’s all concerning," adding, "Park Hae-min is not hitting well, and Hong Chang-ki is also not hitting well. Still, it’s fortunate that they are rotating and managing to hit, so that's a relief."
As manager Yeom Kyung-yup mentioned, Park Hae-min is in a slump with a batting average of .182 (8 hits in 44 at-bats) over 16 games. He recorded no hits and one strikeout in four at-bats the previous day against Doosan, remaining silent with no hits in his last three games with 11 at-bats. His slugging percentage is .227, and on-base percentage is .333. This is why Park Hae-min was excluded from the starting lineup.
So why is Song Chan-eui the substitute for Park Hae-min? Having joined LG in 2018 and made his first team debut in 2022, Song Chan-eui will take on center field for the first time in his debut on this day. Manager Yeom Kyung-yup explained, "He may not be as defensively skilled as Park Hae-min, but I believe he can cover adequately."
LG has assembled a starting lineup against Doosan's starting pitcher, left-handed Choi Seung-yong, featuring Hong Chang-ki (right fielder), Moon Seong-joo (designated hitter), Austin Dean (first baseman), Moon Bo-kyung (third baseman), Kim Hyun-soo (left fielder), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Park Dong-won (catcher), Song Chan-eui (center fielder), and Koo Bon-hyuk (second baseman).
Hong Chang-ki complained of neck pain after colliding with the fence while trying to catch a ball in the game against Kiwoom Heroes on the 9th. As a result, he missed three consecutive games from the 10th to the 12th but returned to the leadoff position after four games.
LG's starting pitcher is next-generation left-handed ace Son Ju-young. He boasts a season record of three wins and no losses with an earned run average of 2.25 over three games, and he became the winning pitcher with a strong performance of one run over seven innings in his last appearance against Kiwoom Heroes on the 8th. Last year against Doosan, he had a solid record of three wins and three losses with an earned run average of 3.90 over six games.
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