Breaking Park Gun-woo's 'record' stamp without a sound

 Park Gun-woo reached the 1,200-hit plateau in his career against the Sasik Lotte Giants on March 23. He was two hits shy of the milestone before the game, but pounded out three hits to reach the 83rd all-time milestone. In the fourth inning, he pushed a forked ball off Lotte starter Na Gyun-an, and in the sixth, he pulled the same pitch for a single to left field. SBS Sports commentator Lee Jong-yeol said, "He bats according to the situation. He's a very smart hitter," said SBS Sports commentator Lee Jong-yeol.

Just four days earlier, he had reached 100 career home runs. In the bottom of the seventh inning of a 1-5 home game against the Samsung Lions on Sept. 19, Park took a seven-pitch fastball from Samsung reliever Lee Seung-hyun over the right field fence. It took him 3674 days to reach triple digits in home runs since April 27, 2013, when he hit his first career home run.

Coincidentally, all of the games in which he reached the 1,200-hit, 100-homer plateau came in team losses. After the Lotte game, he said, "I'm sorry the team didn't win. I found out about the 1200-hit record after the game because I was concentrating on the game," he said. "I want to contribute more to the team's victory than my personal record. I always strive for the team's victory over my own record, and I think that's why I have achieved this record."

Park is far from flashy. Instead, he's been steady. Since 2016, when he made the leap to the main roster, he's consistently hit over 130 hits with a triple-digit batting average every year. His career batting average of 0.326 ranks third all-time among players with at least 3,000 at-bats. Among active players, he trails only Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom Heroes - 0.338), who ranks first overall.

It's not much different after the NC transfer. In December 2021, Park signed a six-year contract with the Dinos for up to 10 billion won (4 billion won in signing bonus, 5.4 billion won in total salary, and 600 million won in incentives). At the time of the contract announcement, he was the sixth player in KBO history to sign a 10 billion won contract. In his first season, he batted .336 (408-for-137) with 10 home runs and 61 RBIs. He was limited to 111 games due to nagging injuries, but when he was on the field, he was exactly what you'd expect.

He broke the streak stamp this season, raising his RC/27 to 6.44. RC/27 is the estimated runs scored if a batter makes all 27 of his outs, and Park's mark ranks 11th in the league and first among NC hitters. Park got off to a slow start. He started April with a .270 monthly average (24 hits in 89 at-bats). But he quickly got back on track. In his first 14 games in May, he hit .364 (20 HR in 55 at-bats). His OPS, which combines his on-base percentage (0.453) and slugging percentage (0.509) for the month, was 0.962, a big difference from April (0.752). His batting average has gradually improved, and he's now over .300 for the season. A solid NC right fielder.

Park fell just short of reaching 200 RBIs for the seventh straight season last year. He attempted to become the 15th player in history, but stopped short at 187. He made up for it with 1100 career hits and seven consecutive 100-hit seasons. This year, he has been conquering records since the beginning of the season. Triple-digit RBIs for an eighth straight season could be a tangible goal. But the team, not the individual, comes first. 먹튀검증

"We're working hard to reduce our hitting cycles in the season," Park said. I think it will help the team if my hitting cycle is reduced," he said, adding, "I will continue to play to help the team win."