Hanwha’s last postseason game was 메이저놀이터 Game 4 of the 2018 semi-playoff. At that time, Hanwha’s starting pitcher was rookie left-hander Park Joo-hong (24). He was expected to be a windbreaker starter throwing about one to two innings, but he made a strong impression by pitching a surprise pitch against Nexen (currently Kiwoom) that did not allow any hits until one out in the fourth inning. The game ended with one win and three losses as Hanwha lost, but Han Yong-deok, then head coach of Hanwha, expected, “I found a good player.”
Park Joo-hong, a native of Gwangju Jeil High School and nominated by Hanwha as the 14th-ranked player in the second round in 2018, was recognized for his soft pitching form and mechanism. He showed his potential as a left-handed bullpen in 2018, and he started as a starter in 2019, but was not as big as expected. There was no clear growth in 2020 after visiting Geelong Korea in the Australian professional baseball league.
Eventually, he left the team briefly during the July 2021 season, joining the military as a social worker. He worked at his hometown of Dong-gu Office in Gwangju and was discharged in April. In May, he changed his name to Park Sung-woong. It has the meaning of “make the sound of a hero” in the letters of Soriseong and Hero Woong.
Park Sung-woong, who is building his body in Seosan’s residual army, said, “My mother gave me the name in the hope that I would be good at baseball. My mother studied. “I thought about it for about a month or two, but I decided to do better if I started with a new name,” he said.
Park Sung-woong, who had been rehabilitating for about a month due to a bad shoulder after returning to the team due to the cancellation of his call-up, started pitching in practice games for the remaining troops. “I’m not perfect yet, but I’m getting the hang of it by throwing it,” he said. “I missed baseball so much during my social service period.” “I thought a lot about how to play baseball well,” he said.
He then said, “When I look back, I tried to do too well, but I didn’t enjoy baseball. I try to focus on what I can do well while enjoying it a little more. My advantage is not to run away when dealing with batters and to actively put them in the strike zone. “When I was a rookie, I threw it without knowing it, but after a year or a year, I got greedy and tried to do better, so I was greatly frustrated and hurt when I couldn’t,” he recalled.
While away from baseball for a while, I changed my mind and steadily built my body. Park Sung-woong, who lost as much as 18 kilograms before the 2020 season, also increased his muscle mass with high-intensity weights. “My strength has improved, but I’m practicing to apply it to throwing the ball,” he said.
Compared to before joining the military, Hanwha’s mound has improved quantitatively and qualitatively. Competition for the first division entry has intensified, but Park Sung-woong also has a chance to return due to a slight lack of left-handed bullpen. Park Sung-woong said, “There are so many good pitchers. “I’m going to learn from our pitchers and follow the good points while watching the game,” he said. “This year, I’m focusing on building a perfect body, but I want to go up to the first division as soon as possible and become a pitcher that helps the team.” “I’m trying to become a more mature and good player than before I joined the army, so I hope my fans will watch over me,” he said.