| Nexen Heroes first baseman Park Byung-ho hits a grand slam home run during a game against the Lotte Giants at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul, Aug. 17. Park recorded his 200th career home run. / Yonhap |
By Baek Byung-yeul
After blasting a grand slam against the Lotte Giants on Aug. 17, Nexen Heroes slugger Park Byung-ho became the 21st hitter to mark his 200th career home run in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the country's top flight baseball league.
To commemorate his 200th career home run, Park will be presented with a plaque from the KBO and 2 million won ($1,700) as prize money from the Heroes before his team's game against the KT Wiz at the Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul, Tuesday.
Adding another home run Thursday against the SK Wyverns, Park currently leads the KBO in homers with 44 and RBIs with 120, widening the gap in the home run race to 7 over the NC Dinos' Eric Thames, who is running second with 37.
The 29-year-old first baseman is well on his way to a breakout season. With only a few weeks left in the regular season, he has a .347 batting average with a .434 on-base percentage and .728 slugging percentage.
Park could become the league's first hitter to reach at least 50 home runs in two consecutive seasons. It is unprecedented because even Samsung Lions slugger Lee Seung-yuop, the first player to reach the 400 career home run mark in the 33-year history of the KBO in June, only reached the 50-home run mark twice, with 54 in 1999 and 56 in 2003. Last year, Park became the only third player to hit 50-plus home runs in the KBO with 52, following Lee and former Lions slugger Sim Jung-soo.
Park's another challenge is to become the first hitter to grasp most home run titles in a season for the four consecutive seasons. Thus far, there are only three hitters to mark the milestone ― former Hanwha Eagle slugger Chang Jong-hoon (1990-1992), Lee (2001-2003) and Park (2012-2014). Considering that the slugger has a 1.06 RBI per game average this season, he could to set new RBI record in a single season, surpassing Lee's 144 set in 2003.
There have been many reports that the two-time KBO MVP has been recognized by the Major League Baseball (MLB) scouts as Park will be eligible to be posted for overseas clubs after this season. There is a lot of speculation about him regarding whether he can outshine his former teammate Kang Jung-ho, who's now playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the big leagues next year.
The Nexen Heroes will have three two-game series with the KT Wiz on Tuesday and Wednesday at Mokdong Baseball Stadium, the Giants in Busan on Thursday and Friday and the Kia Tigers in Gwangju over the weekend.