Professional baseball player Park Dong-won (35) of the LG Twins has won his first career All-Star Game MVP.
Park Dong-won was selected as the number 6 hitter and catcher for the Sharing All-Stars in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO All-Star Game held at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 12th, producing 3 hits, including a two-run home run in his first at-bat, and leading his team to an 8-6 victory.
He received 27 votes out of 28 valid votes from reporters, achieving a remarkable support rate of 96.4% for the MVP. The remaining vote went to I Ju-hyung of the Sharing team. Park Dong-won is the third LG player to win the All-Star Game MVP, following Ryu Ji-hyun in 1997 and Lee Byeong-kyu in 2011, marking a 14-year gap.
From his first at-bat in the first inning, Park Dong-won exploded with a home run, cementing his bid for MVP. With two outs and a runner on first base in the first inning, he hit a fastball from Dream's starting pitcher Park Se-woong that came in high at 140 km/h over the left field wall, a two-run homer that traveled 110 meters. Park Dong-won, sensing it was a home run the moment he hit it, joyfully raised his arms.
In the second inning with two outs and runners on first and third, he added another run with a timely hit to left field after a lengthy battle lasting until the eighth pitch against Woo Gyu-min. It was the decisive hit that extended the score to 7-1.
In the fourth inning with two outs and runners on first and second, he was retired on a ground ball to second base, but in his last at-bat in the seventh inning, he secured the MVP by hitting a single to left field on the first pitch from Kim Taek-yeon.
Before the ninth inning defense, Park Dong-won was substituted by Kim Hyung-jun and finished the game, enjoying the MVP honor along with the Sharing team's 8-6 victory.
After the game, Park Dong-won entered the interview room and said, "I am truly grateful for this award. The Future All-Star MVP (Son Yong-jun) also came from our team, and I am pleased that Mr. All-Star has also come from our team. I really wanted to receive such an award. It’s a happy day. I think heaven has given me great fortune."
Entering the batter's box holding the hand of his daughter, Chae-i, during his first at-bat, Park Dong-won made the fans smile with his fatherly charm. He said, "Whenever we go out, many people recognize us and give us warm words. Chae-i's healthy growth is thanks to the love from LG and KBO fans," and expressed his gratitude.
Park Dong-won hoped that winning the All-Star Game MVP would bring positive energy to LG's competition for the top spot in the second half of the season. He said, "(First place) Hanwha is a very strong team. A 4.5-game difference is not easy, but the second half is still ahead. I remember when (Choi) Hyung-woo won the Mr. All-Star award last year and KIA won the championship, which has stayed with me. I hope LG can win like last year's Hyung-woo and KIA with the energy of the All-Star MVP."
Last year, Choi Hyung-woo, who won the All-Star Game MVP at the oldest age (40 years, 6 months, 20 days), succeeded in winning both the regular league and the Korean Series. This year, LG finished the first half in second place (48 wins, 38 losses, 2 ties, win rate .558) and is trailing first-place Hanwha (52 wins, 33 losses, 2 ties, win rate .612) by 4.5 games. Although it's a gap that is difficult to close in a short time, six matchups may provide LG with an opportunity.
Meanwhile, the Performance Award went to Jeon Min-jae (Lotte), who appeared with wings under the concept of 'an angel over the wall'. Jeon Min-jae performed a act surpassing the club's mascot, Winji, and threw a baseball like Cupid's arrow, receiving 25% support with 35,687 votes out of 143,843 fan votes. Lotte has produced the winner of the Performance Award for three consecutive years, following Kim Min-seok in 2023 and Hwang Seong-bin last year.
Debuting in the All-Star Game as the ninth hitter and shortstop for the Dream All-Stars, Jeon Min-jae played the entire game, recording 2 hits and 1 run from 4 at-bats. After the game, he said, "I didn't expect to win the Performance Award, so I was surprised. I am grateful to all the fans who voted for me," adding, "I thought (Park) Gun-woo would win. The parody of Pat and Matt was impressive."
He continued, "Since this was my first All-Star Game, I was very nervous, but as the game went on, I became less tense. It was a fun day," and regarding his last at-bat in the ninth inning where he hit a single to left field off Kim Seo-hyeon (Hanwha), he said, "I was expecting Kim Seo-hyeon to pitch at full strength. I tried to hit with the hitting point in front of me, and I was glad to get a hit. I think this hit will help us start the second half well."
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