"Because of Park Se-woong right now..."

Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyoung is completely satisfied with the current upward trend. "In fact, I thought the two weeks including the nine-game series in the metropolitan area would be a crucial period. I was very worried," he confessed. However, Lotte ended the nine-game series in the metropolitan area with 5 wins and 3 losses (1 game canceled due to rain). Subsequently, they recorded 4 wins and 1 loss (1 game canceled due to rain) in the six-game home series against Hanwha and Samsung, finishing at their best.

"Rather than just holding on well, it seems like a lot of good energy is coming in," Kim Tae-hyoung emphasized, stating, "If we maintain this flow well until the All-Star break, I believe we can rise even further."

Kim Tae-hyoung, whose face reflects satisfaction with the recent upward trend, is, however, troubled by one player. When speaking about this player, he can’t help but scratch his head. It is local ace Park Se-woong. On the 22nd, Park Se-woong started against the Samsung Lions at Sajik Stadium in Busan and recorded 3 innings, 8 hits (1 home run), 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 6 earned runs before being taken out.

After suffering the worst slump on the 10th against KT with 5 innings pitched, giving up 12 hits (2 home runs), 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, and 8 earned runs, there was an 11-day period for adjustment, but ultimately he could not recover. Various measures were tried, including changing the catcher after just one inning, but they were all in vain.

On the 24th, before the rain-canceled game against NC in Changwon, he shared his concerns about Park Se-woong. The team achieved a comeback victory, winning 9-6, but it was also a day when worries about Park Se-woong deepened. The momentum of their 8 consecutive wins after the opening has disappeared. He has become a completely different pitcher compared to during the 8-game winning streak.

That day, when Park Se-woong allowed a three-run home run to Park Byung-ho in the first inning, he displayed disappointment, leading to a change of catchers from Jeung Bo-keun to Park Jae-yeop after just one inning. It seemed that manager Kim Tae-hyoung regarded it as an issue with the catcher’s game strategy. However, Kim Tae-hyoung explained the reason for the catcher change, saying, "(Jeung) Bo-keun was not changed because he did something wrong. I wanted to try things with (Park) Jae-yeop, so I made that change. I was wondering how I should handle this and thought I should change it up." He clarified that the change was made to invigorate the starting pitcher. He added, "I don’t have the confidence to throw and overcome, so the ball tends to follow the batter's swing path."

I thought things would get better. But it's been nothing but downhill. Manager Kim Tae-hyoung is also bewildered, and Park Se-woong must be suffering even more. Manager Kim diagnosed, "If he just has a couple of games like that and then is fine, that’s great, but right now, it's been a steady decline. Se-woong is also feeling the pressure, and there will be confusion about how to operate him."

Park Se-woong has a deep belief in data. In a way, he might be considered to be too focused on it. Manager Kim Tae-hyoung said, "He is psychologically unstable. He should not worry about where the ball is going or how it's breaking; he just needs to think about winning over the hitters with his own pitches... When he's good, he pitches confidently, but that’s not the case now, so even if he throws the same 148km, the metrics like spin rate can vary."

Still, he said, "There’s nowhere to go down anymore. I hope he can just throw comfortably. Since Se-woong has good stuff, it’s really concerning. But he will get better." reflecting his faith in the revival of the local ace.

Lotte is hanging on while playing a style of baseball that is more than just coping due to injuries to key players. Still, with the impressive performance of new foreign pitcher Alec Gamboa and the surprise emergence of fireballers Lee Min-seok and Hong Min-ki, there has been some relief. However, Park Se-woong must stabilize as the local ace for the team to rise higher without wavering. Park Se-woong’s revival has become more urgent than ever.

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