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LG Twins catcher shines for Team Nanum in KBO All-Star Game against Team Dream

Published: 13 Jul. 2025, 12:52

Park Dong-won of the LG Twins, playing for Team Nanum at the KBO All-Star Game, poses with the trophy after winning the MVP award at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon on July 12. [YONHAP]

LG Twins catcher Park Dong-won homered and led all players with three hits and three RBIs, as his Team Nanum defeated Team Dream 8-6 in the KBO All-Star Game on Saturday.

Park, who smacked a two-run home run in the first inning, collected 27 out of 28 votes from the media to earn the All-Star Game MVP award.

Team Nanum featured players from the Twins, the Kia Tigers, the NC Dinos, the Kiwoom Heroes and the Hanwha Eagles, the host of this year's festivities at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon.

Team Dream had representatives from the five remaining clubs: the Samsung Lions, the Doosan Bears, the KT Wiz, the SSG Landers and the Lotte Giants.

The winning team received 30 million won ($21,750) in prize money, while Park earned himself a Kia EV4 vehicle.

The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 16,850 at the brand-new stadium. It was the fourth consecutive sellout for an All-Star Game and 24th overall.

After Team Dream scored a run in the top of the first, Team Nanum responded with a four-spot in the bottom of the first, with a two-run double by Eagles star Chae Eun-seong and the two-run shot by Park.

Team Nanum starter Cody Ponce, representing the Hanwha Eagles at the KBO All-Star Game, walks to the mound in a Darth Vader costume at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon on July 12. [YONHAP]

Team Nanum pulled away with three more runs in the bottom of the second.

Team Dream scored three runs in the top of the third, with run-scoring hits by a couple of Lions representatives, Koo Ja-wook and Lewin Diaz.

Then Wiz slugger An Hyeon-min, the leading contender for the Rookie of the Year award, got Team Dream within one — first with an RBI double in the top of the sixth and then a solo home run in the top of the eighth.

Victor Reyes of Team Dream, representing the Lotte Giants at the KBO All-Star Game, plays in hanbok at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon on July 12. [YONHAP]

But then Tigers catcher Kim Tae-gun smoked a solo shot for Team Nanum in the bottom of the eighth to provide the final margin of his side's victory.

For Team Nanum, Twins outfielder Kim Hyun-soo came in as a pinch hitter in the sixth for his record-setting 14th consecutive All-Star Game appearance.

The All-Star Game has increasingly become more of a show than a baseball contest, with players taking the mound or stepping into the box in costumes and makeup.

There was no shortage of silly stuff Saturday night. Team Nanum starter Cody Ponce, staff ace for the Eagles, showed up in a Darth Vader costume. Giants outfielder Victor Reyes dressed up in the traditional Korean outfit of hanbok for Team Dream, while Twins outfielder Park Hae-min got decked out in a Spider-Man costume along with his young son.

The regular season will resume next Thursday.

Yonhap