Doosan Bears shortstop Park Chan-ho celebrates after hitting a single against the LG Twins in Game 1 of the wild card series in Jamsil Baseball Stadium, in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Oct. 14.YONHAP
Preparing for his first Korean baseball postseason with his new team, Doosan Bears shortstop Park Chan-ho said Wednesday he is fully embracing his club's underdog label.
As the fifth seed, the Bears will go up against the fourth-ranked LG Twins in the wild card round of the KBO postseason. The higher seed has a built-in advantage, as the Twins only need a tie in two attempts to advance to the next round. The Bears, on the other hand, must win two straight games.
The KBO added the wild card round to the postseason in 2015, and only once has a fifth seed upset a fourth seed. The odds are stacked against the Bears, but Park said he did not mind that.
“Obviously, it will be a difficult task for us, but at the same time, the pressure is on the other team,” Park told reporters during a pregame scrum at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul. “We have only seen one upset so far in this round. So there is zero reason for us to feel any pressure.”
Some pundits see the Bears as the favorite team in this round. They have stout starting pitching, led by Wednesday's starter, Gwak Been, the regular-season leader in ERA (2.24) and strikeouts (197). The Twins tumbled from first place to fourth place over the second half of the season and have lost nearly half of their high-leverage bullpen pitchers to injuries.
Park, who joined the Bears this year after 10 seasons with the Kia Tigers, said while he still thought the Twins were favored — “They just have to win once,” he said — the Bears have what it takes to pull off an upset.
Doosan Bears shortstop Park Chan-ho, right, slides into second during the KBO postseason opener in Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Oct. 14.YONHAP
“I have told my teammates we just have to think about winning this first game, and then you never know what can transpire after that,” Park said. “This could be the only postseason game we play this year, and we have to cherish this opportunity. Obviously, it will be even better if we win today. But even if we end up playing just this one game, it will mean a lot to us, especially some guys who have never been in a postseason.”
With the Tigers awaiting the wild card winner in the next postseason round, Park said he had not yet let himself get that far ahead.
“We have to take care of business today first,” he said with a smile. “Honestly, I have not thought about facing the Tigers. I have to go all-in on trying to win today. I will think about everything else later.”
