Tigers outfielder competing in KBO postseason through wisdom tooth pain
Park Jung-woo of the Kia Tigers, left, celebrates after hitting a double against the LG Twins during the club's Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, Oct. 12. Yonhap
Athletes are often willing to play through all sorts of pain in important games, be it a creaky back or wonky knees.
Kia Tigers outfielder Park Jung-woo, though, is dealing with an unusual type of pain with his team in the thick of the Korean baseball postseason — with his wisdom tooth on the right side.
"I wanted to get rid of it right away but apparently, it is not a simple procedure," Park told reporters before the Tigers hosted the LG Twins in Game 2 of their best-of-five series in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason. "So I have decided to take it out after the end of our postseason."
Park missed the first game of this series Saturday because he was under the weather. A flu bug went around the Tigers clubhouse and several players dealt with high fever in the days leading up to the postseason series.
Park said his fever might have made his wisdom tooth pain even worse, and he had difficulty eating food.
With the Tigers leading the Twins 2-0 in the series and needing just one more win to advance to the next round, Park's team appears to be several days away from the end of their season. And that suits Park just fine, because he said he would gladly trade a few more days of toothache for a deep postseason run.
"This hurts so much but I think the later I pull it out, the better it is," Park said with a smile. "I want to keep on playing in the postseason. Even if I am hurting, I will feel pretty good if we go all the way in the postseason.
"Plus, I don't think it will hurt during games," Park continued. "As long as I don't get hit in the chin by a pitch, I will keep on playing."
The 28-year-old is not yet a big star on a team featuring a few of them, but he is still a key part near the top of the lineup. He played in his career-high 110 games this past regular season and posted a strong on-base percentage of .403.
Manager Lee Bum-ho has enough trust in the outfielder to put him in the leadoff spot Sunday, tasking him with setting the table for mashers like Kim Do-yeong, Harold Castro and Na Sung-bum hitting behind him.
"I am trying to temper my own expectations," Park said. "Whenever I start believing too much in myself, I tend to become too loose on the field."