Son of ex-All-Star selected 1st overall at KBO draft

High school pitcher Park Jun-hyun, son of former star third baseman Park Sok-min, went first overall at the annual Korean baseball draft Wednesday. The junior Park, a senior pitcher for Bugil High School in Cheonan, about 90 kilometers south of Seoul, went to the Kiwoom Heroes with the first pick at the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) draft. The 18-year-old right-hander has pitched to a 2.63 ERA in 40 2/3 innings this season, with 54 strikeouts against 14 walks and a 2-1 record. Park has touched 157 kph with his fastball. His father played 20 seasons in the KBO from 2004 to 2023. He won five Korean Series titles with the Samsung Lions — 2005 and then from 2011 to 2014 — and added his sixth ring with the NC Dinos in 2020. Widely regarded as one of the finest third basemen of his generation, Park won the Golden Glove awards at the hot corner in 2014 and 2015. He finished with 269 home runs, 1,041 RBIs and a .287/.402/.491 line in 1,697 games. Earlier this year, a media report alleged Park Jun-hyun of bullying his teammates in high school. He has been cleared by the regional educationWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times