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[이데일리 스타in 임정우 기자] Park Hyo-joon (25, New York Yankees) played for the first time in the US Professional Baseball Major League (MLB) demonstration game in 2021, but failed to produce the hit he had been waiting for.
On the 4th (Korean time), Park Hyo-jun made a two-stroke no-hit in a demonstration match against the Toronto Blue Jays held at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, USA.
Park Hyo-jun played as second baseman instead of DJ Lumei-hyu when defending in the 5th inning. Park Hyo-jun, who faced Toronto left-hander Nick Algier at the end of the 5th inning, played a full count (3-ball-2 strike), but retreated to second baseman ground ball.
At the end of the 7th inning, he struck out looking at Anthony Castro’s 148km/h fastball at second base. Park Hyo-jun, a member of the Yankees’ minor league team, has been steadily participating in MLB demonstration games since 2018. However, I didn’t get many opportunities, and before the opening, I always went back to the minor leagues. Park Hyo-jun’s career performance in the MLB demonstration game is 9 at-bats, 3 hits (0.333 batting average) and 3 walks.
Cory Klouver, who started as the Yankees on this day, blocked two innings with no hits and three strikeouts and confirmed the possibility of a comeback. Kluber, who received two cy-images (2014 and 2017) at the Cleveland Indians, fell into deep sluggishness after being hit by a bat in 2019 and suffered a fracture.
In 2020, the Texas Rangers threw only one game and rehabilitated with a muscle rupture. Kluber tried to find a new nest by opening a’showcase’ in the off-season, and signed a contract with the Yankees for $11 million a year. Kluber wore a Yankees uniform and showed a stable match in the first match, raising expectations this season. The Yankees defeated Toronto 4-1 on this day.