Manager Yeom Kyung-yup names Nexen prospect Park Dong-won as starting catcher
Reunited with LG this year, Park Dong-won leads the team to the overall title

It was in 2012 that Yeom Kyung-yeop, who led the LG Twins to the 'championship' this year, took his first steps as a manager. After taking the helm of the Nexen Heroes (now Kiwoom), he made a splash early on by announcing his best lineup for the 2013 season.

The decision was based on the theory that different players should prepare for the season according to their roles, and Park Dong-won's (LG Twins) name stood out. Park was selected as the starting catcher for the new season because he had only appeared in seven games for the first team in 2010.

Seeing the qualities of an offensive catcher in Park, Yeom's choice was bold and decisive. "I'm going to push him," he told him, "whether it's death or food. With his full support, Park went through a series of trials and errors as he grew.
Their relationship, which was cut short when Yeom left Nexen at the end of the 2016 season, resumed last winter.

Yeom was named LG's head coach on Nov. 6 last year. The two were reunited a month later when free agent Park Dong-won signed a four-year, 6.5 billion won contract with LG.

Over the years, they have risen to the point where they are comfortable being labeled "veterans" side by side. After Nexen, Yeom made his mark as a coach with the SK Wyverns. Park Dong-won has also established himself as one of the best catchers in the KBO.

Their goals for the new uniforms were the same. Yoon wanted to be a "championship coach," something he hadn't been able to achieve as a manager. Park Dong-won, who never made it to the top, said, "I've never won a championship in baseball. I want my first championship to be the LG Twins' first in 29 years," he said.

With their eyes on the same place, they hit nonstop this season. Park led the way for LG with 15 home runs through May. He also worked in tandem with the pitching staff to help the team to a first-place ERA (3.67).

After finishing the regular season atop the standings, LG carried that momentum into the Korean Series, its first title in 21 years since 2002. After losing Game 1, LG reeled off four straight wins to clinch the overall title with a 4-1 victory.

Park Dong-won's performance was outstanding. He batted .313 (5-for-16) with two home runs and four RBIs in five games of the Korean Series, including game-winning homers in Games 2 and 3. In Game 2, after starter Choi Won-tae was pulled after just ⅓ of an inning, he led a seven-man bullpen that held on without allowing another run to set the stage for a come-from-behind victory.
It was Park Dong-won who swayed the mind of Yoon, who said before the Korean Series that he would "give the manager's MVP 10 million won out of his own pocket, apart from the Most Valuable Player (MVP)."

"I will give 5 million won each to Park Dong-won and bullpen pitcher Yoo Young-chan," Yeom declared after the team won the championship.

When Park Dong-won requested, "You should give me 10 million won as promised," Yeom readily agreed, giving Park Dong-won and Yoo Young-chan 10 million won each, for a total of 20 million won. In return, he gave Park Dong-won, who was earning a large salary as a free agent, the condition that he "give the seniors a meal."

The player who first gave them a chance 10 years ago has paved the way for them to win the championship they so desperately wanted. "Now I'm Dong-won's eyes," Yeom joked. "We've been together since the Nexen days, so he knows what I want. Even if I say something he doesn't like, he understands what I mean and accepts it," he said.

The first attempt at the Korean Series in 2014, as a player and manager, remained a disappointment. Nine years later, he remembers it differently.

"I think I was too unprepared in 2014," Park said. I said that I would like to win the next time I have the chance, but I feel like I repaid the coach who raised me 10 years ago by helping me. I have nothing but gratitude," he said sincerely.


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