Doosan’s homemaker Park Se-hyeok opens the second act of his baseball life in NC.
NC Dinos recruited Park Se-hyuk as a 안전놀이터 free agent on December 24, 2022. His contract period is 4 years, and the total amount is 4.6 billion won, with a down payment of 1.8 billion won, an annual salary of 2.4 billion won, and an incentive of 400 million won.
The size of the contract is not small, but Park Se-hyeok transferred to NC as if pushed. NC’s existing main catcher Yang Eui-ji moved to Doosan, his parent team, and NC signed a contract with Park Se-hyuk to cry and eat mustard. Park Se-hyuk also admitted the cold reality, saying, “There was only NC as an option.”
Park Se-hyeok was with the Doosan Bears in their heyday. When Yang Eui-ji used the starting mask, he was the best backup catcher in the league, and after becoming the starting pitcher, he led Doosan with high-level attack power and unique affinity. Park Se-hyuk was also the protagonist of the dramatic ending hit that overturned the 14.5 game difference in 2019 and took first place in the regular season. After Park Se-hyuk leaped into the starting lineup, Doosan won one championship and two runners-up.
Park Se-hyeok’s baseball life changed after an unexpected injury. On April 16, 2021, Jamsil LG Dae-yu Kim’s 136 km/h fast ball hit Park Se-hyuk’s right clown. He underwent surgery for an orbital fracture and returned 54 days later, but had the worst performance after leaping to Iran with a batting average of .219 OPS .556.What effect did the orbital fracture have on Park Se-hyeok? The walk rate did not change much, but the strikeout rate increased significantly. The out-of-zone swing rate hasn’t changed either, but the problem is the decrease in contact. Park Se-hyeok has always maintained an above-average contact rate in the league since making the jump to the starting lineup in 2019, but has declined below average since his injury. In particular, the out-of-zone contact rate has dropped significantly.
