Park Chan-ho leads Eagles to win

By Jung Min-ho

Sweeping aside concerns that the 38-year-old was past his prime, Park threw 6.3 innings striking out five and walking two, at the Cheongju Baseball Stadium in central Chungcheong Province.

He threw 92 balls and at one point recorded a maximum speed of 149 kilometers, marking 63 strikes and 29 balls.

Getting off to a shaky start, giving up two walks in the first inning, Park soon got back on track striking out two batters in a row in the second.

He only needed three pitches to end the third inning, a reminder of the form that saw him earn the record for the most Major League wins by an Asian player.

Park’s smooth progress was halted in the seventh inning when he allowed a hit by the Bears’ Choi Jun-seok and Hyu Kyung-min followed up with another. He was relieved by Song Sin-yeong who saw the team home despite allowing two runs in the seventh.

The Eagles batters, including slugger Kim Tae-kyun, managed eight runs, proving that their team’s a title contender.

Before the season began, concerns had been raised over Park’s poor showing in the exhibition games. He spent 17 seasons in the majors with seven different teams including the Los Angeles Dodgers and one season in Japan before returning home to sign a one-year deal with the Eagles last December. This win will go some way to silencing the critics and raise expectations for his performances as the season continues.