Twins' Park Byung-ho homers for 2nd consecutive game

Minnesota Twins’ Park Byung-ho, left, celebrates with on-deck batter Eduardo Nunez after his home run off Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Gavin Floyd during the second inning of a spring training baseball game in Dunedin, Fla., Tuesay. / AP-Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

Following Park Byung-ho of the Minnesota Twins posting his first home run ― a grand slam ― Monday (KST), the Korean slugger pounded another long ball in his second straight game, Wednesday.

At the Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin, Park batted fifth and hit a solo shot off of the Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Gavin Floyd in the second inning, driving a 92 mile-per-hour fastball over the left center field wall. Park was replaced by Alex Swim in the sixth after being struck out in the fifth. The Twins beat the Blue Jays 9-3.

Park said he seems to be adjusting to major league pitching.

“The thing I try to work on the most is my timing when it comes to batting,” Park told the Minnesota local The Star Tribune newspaper after the game. “It feels like it is better, like it is starting to fall into place.”

This is Park’s first season in the majors after joining the Twins in the offseason; being posted by the Korea Baseball Organization’s (KBO) Nexen Heroes. He led in the KBO in homeruns for four consecutive seasons beginning in 2012 and is the only hitter who reached at least 50 in two consecutive years.

US media’s rising expectation on Park

Due to Park’s inspiring performance so far, the U.S. media has more expectations for him.

Not only was the grand slam against the Tampa Bay Rays splashed on the top page of MLB.com but also the official webpage of Major League Baseball included him among the top 10 MLB rookies to watch this season.

A reporter at the Minnesota local newspaper also recognized Park saying, “he can be a productive player in the majors.”

“After watching Park for a few games I feel that he can be a productive player in Major League Baseball,” said the Star Tribune baseball reporter La Velle Neal in an email interview with The Korea Times.

But at the same time, Neal also said Park “will fall short of the superstar production he was known for in the KBO.”

“He will have to adjust to different pitching in MLB, and that will be difficult. MLB has starters who throw 93-95 miles an hour and relievers who throw up to 98 miles an hour. Good MLB hitters have enough trouble hitting against these pitchers, but Park is coming from a league where pitchers don’t throw nearly as fast,” Neal added.

“The adjustment will take time. And players don’t hit 53 homers a season here like they used to. To me, a good year for Park would be 23-25 home runs with 85 RBIs. The Twins will be happy with this level of production,” the reporter said.