The captain of the Fire Fighters, Park Yong-taek, candidly shared his thoughts about baseball.
On the 4th, Park Yong-taek appeared on the YouTube channel ‘Jung Geun-woo’s Baseball Life’ and said, “These days, every time I step up to the plate, I think, ‘This is my last at-bat in life,’” sharing stories from his last free agency.
Park Yong-taek mentioned, “Now that I’m 40, I’ve thought about just retiring. There was a lot of pressure regarding the 3000 hits, but I also thought it would be hard for me to last more than two years, so I decided on a two-year contract. I feel like I’m in that mindset again. I think I need to consider what choice to make. After this year? After next year? Or when? I need to start thinking about these things now,” he said.
In response to Park Yong-taek's candid remarks, Jung Geun-woo commented, “You could have a retirement ceremony in ‘Fire Baseball’ as well,” adding, “He’s envisioning a happy ending for himself. He’s contemplating how to make his retirement look cool.” To this, Park Yong-taek replied, “You’re spot on,” and added, “So it’s still too early for goodbyes.”
Back in 2019, many expected Park Yong-taek to sign a four-year contract. He had recorded a total of 2,317 hits by the end of the 2018 season and was discussed among baseball fans and officials as a player who could achieve the first 3000 hits in the KBO League. However, Park Yong-taek chose to sign a two-year FA contract on his own terms and retired spectacularly after recording 2,504 hits.
On that day, Park Yong-taek reminisced about the mid-2000s season, often referred to as the dark age of the LG Twins, sharing some laughable episodes. He said, “It was not uncommon to get hit by eggs while leaving the stadium, and one day someone even threw up on my car,” adding, “One day, someone completely wrecked my car, stole my belongings, and even slashed my tires.” Park Yong-taek humorously reflected, “If you get completely immersed in baseball, fans might react that way.”
The ‘Jung Geun-woo’s Baseball Life’ segment called ‘Joodam’ is a talk content where Jung Geun-woo and baseball figures drink and converse. Personal and candid stories that have never been heard before are shared. In this episode, Jeong Ji-yoon also gave a sharp comment about Park Yong-taek’s recent batting average struggles and shared a story about being scolded by Park Yong-taek for not being able to play soccer during his rookie days.
Additionally, Park Yong-taek shared a light-hearted story about having to pay a fine of 500,000 won if he bothers his wife after coming home drunk. Various episodes unfolded, including the culture of seniors and juniors in LG, the atmosphere of the team that emphasized mental training while walking on charcoal, the annual head-shaving ceremony held by LG, and stories about TikToker Jeong Ji-yoon.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
