Now I need a stronger rebuke and advice than a compliment. I wish I could study more about the second batter."스포츠토토

Captain Park Min-woo of the Dinosaur Corps gave advice to his junior Kim Joo-won (NC Dinos).

Kim Joo-won, who was called by NC as the sixth overall in the second round of the first round in 2021, is a right-handed shortstop who played in 426 games until last year and posted a batting average of 0.238 (292 hits in 1,227 times at bat), 34 homers, 166 RBIs, 47 steals, and 0.710 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, he helped Korea win the title and resolved the military service issue early on.

Kim Joo-won showed his presence in his own way last year as well. He had a batting average of 0.195 (41 hits in 210 at-bats) and five homers and 28 RBIs in 77 games in the first half, but rebounded in the second half. In 57 games, he had a batting average of 0.320 (56 hits in 175 at-bats), four homers and 21 RBIs, and finished the 2024 season with a batting average of 0.252 (97 hits in 385 at-bats), nine homers and 49 RBIs, and 16 steals and an OPS of 0.750 for the final 134 games. NC manager Lee Ho-joon plans to place Kim as the second hitter this season.

NC's Captain Park Min-woo gave Kim Joo-won advice. "[Kim] Joo-won is quick on his feet and can both hit left and right. In that respect, I think it will be easier for me to move on the base. It will be helpful for me and my team. If Joo-won hits No. 2, it will be of great help to our team. I also sympathize with what the coach said," Park said. "I can't just say good things because we're on the same team. As a senior, I hope Joo-won can learn more about the second batter."

"In modern baseball, the second batter is really important. It can be more important than the central batting lineup. I hope you pay more attention to the role you have to play in that batting order. I hope I can see more of you trying to study," he said. "I've also batted second, but there are many things to pay attention to in many ways, such as when I have to hit, when I have to get on base, when I have to watch the ball, when I have to let the runner go. If Ju-won has a bigger dream, he has to study that more. I hope he will try harder because he can become a player who will represent our country. Now he is not just a young player. He played more games in the first team than anyone else at that age. I need strong rebukes and advice than compliments."

Park Min-woo also picked Park Gun-woo as an expected player this season. Park, who has been wearing NC uniforms since the 2022 season after being named by the Doosan Bears as the 10th overall player in the second round in 2009, is a veteran outfielder with a batting average of 0.327 (1,414 hits in 4,319 at-bats) with 123 home runs, 677 RBIs and an OPS of 0.883 in 1,256 games until last year.

"(Park) Kun-woo finished the season early last year (due to injury). He has a strong desire to play baseball. I have seen him want to do better than anyone else. I hope he will have a season that can peak his career this year," Park said. "He is a player who always helps me. This year, he is showing better passion. I think he will have a season where he can win another title."

Park Min-woo, who had a batting average of 0.320 (1,482 hits in 4,625 at-bats) with 39 homers, 488 RBIs, 275 steals and an OPS of 0.818 in 1,283 games until last year after being called by NC as the ninth overall in the first round in 2012, has also been busy during the offseason for his performance this year.

"I had a good winter. I spent time with my family by exercising hard to prepare well for this season. Overall, I made efforts to improve in every aspect. Above all, I focused my efforts not to lose speed. I tried to maintain my physical speed by running, defense, and hitting," he said, nodding, "I practiced a lot while studying with J Sports' Resident Jae in Seoul during the offseason to make up for what I thought was a disadvantage (in hitting)."

Park Min-woo continued, "It's the stage of checking and testing how the parts I've been practicing and doing will turn out in the game. The results are coming out well. I'm not trying to hit home runs at all, but I'm encouraged by a lot of my favorite hits," and added, "I want to say thank you so much to coach Joo Min-jae and coach Hur Il."

He is Park Min-woo, who recently boasted his special chemistry with Lee Ho-joon. After hitting a run-away two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Changwon Kiwoom Heroes on Sunday, Park gave Lee a "cry" at the latter. "I told Park Min-woo to 'lower his trajectory' since there are no homers coming out. But he yelled at me after hitting a home run. (Park Min-woo) got hit well in the match against Kiwoom in Changwon on Saturday, and he was caught in front of the fence. So I told him, 'What's the point of hitting me well, lower my trajectory,' but he showed me that it was a home run."

"I didn't mean to hit a home run, but the timing was just right," Park Min-woo said with a bright smile. "I said something to the manager aloud. He was laughing and hitting his head."

Having ranked ninth (61 wins, 2 draws and 81 losses) last year, NC is considered the lowest rank again this year. There are so many question marks in both pitching and batting. Nevertheless, the "captain" is calmly preparing for the season.

Park Min-woo said, "We don't care even if we are classified as the lower ranks. I just want to do my best with any team. I've received a lot of reviews, but there's no big difference. Rather, it's not more burdensome to be evaluated in the lower ranks.