In the 40+ year history of the KBO, a catcher has won the home run title a total of five times. Those five times were split between two players. They are considered the best offensive catchers of all time. Park Dong-won will challenge the legend.
Only Lee Man-Soo and Park Dong-Won have ever held the title of “Home Run King”. Lee won the title three times during his career, in 1983, 1984, and 1985. His nickname, “Hulk,” was synonymous with an “offensive catcher” with a fiery bat.
Lee led the league with 27 home runs in 1983, 23 in 1984, and 22 in 1985. After that, the catcher’s home run reign came to an end and was replaced by Park Kyung-wan, arguably the greatest catcher of all time.
The current LG coach won the home run title in 2000 and 2004. In 2000, he was a member of the Hyundai Unicorns. He hit a whopping 40 home runs that year, and the competition was fierce. The Doosan Bears’ Tyron Woods was just one home run behind Park with 39, while teammate Tom Quinlan hit 37. The “Lion King” Lee Seung-yeop was fourth with 36. It was a very competitive season for home runs, and it was Park who came out on top.
Park, who also won the title in 2004 with 34 home runs, beat out modern-day Cliff Broomba by just one for the second time in his career.
There hasn’t been a catcher’s home run champion since. Doosan Yang-ji, currently considered the best offensive catcher in the league, was in the running, but hadn’t yet topped the list. Yang hit 20 home runs in five straight seasons from 2018 to 2022, including two straight 30-homer seasons in 2020 and 2021. He was on fire in the early part of the 2021 season while playing for NC, hitting 19 home runs by June and challenging for the catcher home run title, but his pace slowed in the second half. That year, Yang hit 30 home runs and finished fifth in the league.먹튀검증
This year, the LG Twins’ Park Dong-won has stepped up to the plate. Park added two more home runs on May 25 against the Incheon SSG, bringing his season total to 12. He currently leads the league. Doosan Rojas and Hanwha’s Noh Si-hwan (9 home runs) are chasing him, but he’s not slowing down. After hitting four home runs in April, he added eight more in May alone.
There are still a lot of games left to play, but Park’s incredible performance in his first year as a free agent has certainly given KBO fans something to look forward to. It’s an interesting one to watch.