When South Korean slugger Byung-ho Park landed in Minneapolis to officially sign with the Minnesota Twins, I was admittedly super excited.
Not only because of the potential power and run producing capability he could bring but because as an adoptee of South Korea myself, it was pretty cool to see my country represented in a Minnesota Twins uniform no less.
So imagine my excitement when Park was hitting well to start the season.
I was even in attendance when he smashed that bomb against the Los Angeles Angels to straight away center into the new Catch area.
However, things soon regressed for Park and we all know the story from there as he now finds himself stuck in Triple-A limbo, watching the likes of Kennys Vargas and Eddie Rosario starting to figure things outs.
More from Puckett's Pond
- Minnesota Twins: You Spin Me Right Round, Right Round
- Minnesota Twins: What happens next at Shortstop?
- Minnesota Twins: Grading the Twins’ Joey Gallo signing
- Minnesota Twins: 4 Possible Trade Chips not named Kepler or Arraez
- Minnesota Twins: After missing out on Correa, what comes next?
Still, regardless of how poorly he was hitting when he was demoted, this is why I still believe in Byung-ho Park as a valuable member of the Minnesota Twins.
Without a doubt his power was a sight to behold. Whenever he put a good swing on the ball, it was going places.
He even showed maturity with his ability to go with the ball and push it to right field.
However, confidence issues forced Paul Molitor and the organization to send Park to Rochester.
Despite his struggles with pitch recognition and his high strikeout rate, especially later on as his season progressed, Park did make some strong strides considering he had never seen anything like Major League pitching before.
We all knew there would be an adjustment period for Park. Heck, even the likes of Vargas, Aaron Hicks and Trevor Plouffe had been sent up and down from the club to the minors before figuring it all out.
This move for Park should be looked at as no different.
I can’t imagine the Minnesota Twins would be willing to just give up on a player they spent so much money and effort to nab from South Korea after he struggled in his inaugural season.
I still believe he could be a key hitter in the lineup and should be given a second chance.
It’s also hard to imagine the Twins not having him in their future plans. With Joe Mauer’s contract about to be up in a few years, they will have a decision to make with first base.
Park’s glove was more than adequate and a nice surprise for the team when he came over.
If his bat starts to come around by then, the Minnesota Twins would be looking at an infield of Park, Brian Dozier, Miguel Sano and whomever they deem the right choice for shortstop.
That mixed with the likes of Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Rosario in the outfield could give the Twins a perfect combination of speed, power, defense and average.
Again, these are all hypotheticals and we don’t know what the lineup will look like in a few years. But when Park signed and put on that Minnesota Twins uniform, all sides seemed to think of it as more a long-term pact.
I still believe he could be a key hitter in the lineup and should be given a second chance.
While I have not heard anyone say otherwise, it would seem the team is willing to give him another shot. We just don’t know when.
Regardless, the idea of a potential game changer like Park in the lineup still excites me.
Not to mention it was awesome to see the Korean community come out for Park’s Cap Night.
Next: Still Searching for an Ace
These reasons are why, I still believe in Byung-ho Park.