It wasn't a game that decided the championship, but LG Twins captain Park Hae-min cried alone as if they had won. It turned out he had been quietly distressed over a double play with runners in scoring position, and when his teammates engineered a dramatic comeback win, overwhelming emotion rose in him without his realizing it.
Park Hae-min broke down in tears on the field after a dramatic 7-4 comeback win in the fourth game against the Hanwha Eagles in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Korean Series (best-of-seven) held at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark on the 30th. While teammates shared the joy of victory with bright smiles, he was captured shedding tears alone.
Ahead of the fifth game on the 31st, Park Hae-min, whom reporters met, said, "I kept feeling bad about hitting into a double play with runners on first and third. So today (the 30th) I thought if we lost it would be because of me. If we had lost, the series would have been tied, so there was pressure, but my teammates covered up my mistake with great plays. That made me cry." He added, "Actually, I had a kind of pressure even before the series began. Facing the series as captain definitely changes your mindset. Because of that pressure I cried."
He went on, "Looking at this year's postseason, I think the captains led their teams well: Chae Eun-seong (Hanwha), Koo Ja-wook (Samsung Lions), Park Min-woo (NC Dinos) all did. But I kept feeling uncomfortable thinking I had dampened the team's mood with my hitting, and when my teammates turned the game around so splendidly I welled up."
It was Shin Min-jae's posts that made the fact Park Hae-min cried widely known. Shin Min-jae spread the news of the senior's tears widely. Park Hae-min smiled and said, "It's my karma. I always teased and messed with the players. I teased ElTube (the club channel) a lot, and now he follows me around and uploads things just when I start to be forgotten. People reap what they sow. It's coming back to me that much."
He added, "Looking back, I cried at such an odd moment. We hadn't clinched the championship, the players were excited, and I came in trying to hold back tears, so the players reacted like 'what's wrong with him.' But I think my tears actually improved the team's mood."
As he cried, Park Hae-min felt empathy for the feelings of the championship-winning captain two years ago, Oh Ji-hwan. He said, "When Ji-hwan was captain in 2023 he must have struggled a lot. I have really relied on the help of the seniors now. Oh Ji-hwan, Kim Hyun-soo, Park Dong-won, Lim Chan-kyu, Hong Chang-ki and others have been a great help, but I couldn't help Ji-hwan two years ago. Ji-hwan must have been really struggling, yet he overcame it and performed enormously in the Korean Series. Thinking about that yesterday made me cry again."
When asked whether he had ever cried like this before while playing baseball, Park Hae-min said, "No. Honestly, I didn't cry even when Kelly left. But yesterday I did." That shows how dramatic the Game 4 comeback was to Park Hae-min.
If LG wins today, they will lift their fourth overall championship trophy, their first in two years since 2023. Dreaming of being a championship-winning captain, Park Hae-min said, "Because the players have played so well, I hope we clinch the championship today. My teammates helped me yesterday, so I'll try to play more relaxed today."
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