Park Hyo-jun (28) starts the 2024 season in the minor league. Although he hit hard with a .488 batting average in an MLB (American Professional Baseball) exhibition game, he failed to make the opening roster (26 players).
Hyojun Park. /USA Today Yonhap News
On the 27th, Oakland Athletics reporter Jessica Kleinschmidt said on her social media (SNS), “Hyojun Park will start the 2024 season in the Triple A Minor League.” According to Kleinschmidt, Athletic trainer Mark Kotsey said, “It was a decision based on the composition of the team, regardless of Park Hyo-jun’s skills.” The Athletics gave Darrell Ernais his first chance, a 2001-born prospect who posted a .300 batting average (15 hits in 50 at-bats) in exhibition games.
Park Hyo-jun, who signed a minor league contract with the Athletics and participated in an MLB exhibition game as an invited player, performed well in 22 games until the day before with a 0.488 batting average (21 hits in 43 at-bats) , 1 home run, 9 RBI, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 1.163. Thanks to this performance, the local media, including MLB.com, predicted that he would join the opening roster. However, Park Hyo-jun started in the Triple A minor league.
Park Hyo-jun appeared in 68 MLB games and posted a 0.201 batting average (36 hits in 179 at-bats), 5 home runs, and 20 RBI. Last year, when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, he had the privilege of joining the starting lineup, but in 2023, he will start the new season in the minor league once again.
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