New Futures manager Park Jung-kwon of the professional baseball SSG Landers expressed his determination to focus on fostering for the future of the team. 

SSG announced on the 27th that it has appointed former commentator Park Jeong-kwon as the head coach of Futures. With the arrival of head coach Park Jung-kwon, the confusion over the position of head coach of Futures has ended. Fans who have been critical of the controversy surrounding the head coach of Futures are also welcoming the return of the franchise star. 스포츠토토

SSG, which recorded 72 wins, two draws and 70 losses and a .507 winning rate last season, tied fifth-ranked KT accurately, but failed to advance to the postseason as it suffered a come-from-behind loss in the fifth-place match. SSG, which pledged to return to the fall baseball league, began reorganizing its coaching staff, and in the process, recruited Futures coach Sohn Si-heon as its first-team defensive coach to strengthen its defense. 

SSG appointed Park Jung-tae as its coach on Dec. 31 last year. However, SSG's decision immediately sparked heated controversy. 

Coach Park Jung-tae has been away from the scene for 12 years since 2012. In 2019, he caused a stir by causing drunk driving and obstruction of bus driving. There were also people who doubted that Choo's influence might have allowed him to manage SSG Futures because he was an uncle of Choo Shin-soo, who was in charge of SSG owner's assistant and development on December 27 last year.

As the controversy continued, head coach Park Jung-tae resigned voluntarily on the 24th and stepped down from his position. SSG is in a situation where it has to find a new head coach for Futures ahead of the spring camp. 

It was Park Jung-kwon who emerged as a firefighter in the SSG in a crisis. The Futures manager Park Jung-kwon joined the SK Wyverns in 2004 and played as a one-club man franchise star until his retirement in 2019. In the postseason, he led the SK dynasty with a batting average of 296 (56 hits in 189 times at bat), 11 homers, 40 RBIs, 28 runs and five steals, with an OPS of .926 in 62 games. 

Park Jung-kwon, who served as the second-tier batting coach and the first-tier batting assistant coach after retirement, was away from the team last year as a commentator, but returned to the team when the team needed it and took on the role of cleaning up the confusion as a Futures coach. SSG said, "I paid attention to the fact that new coach Park has been in constant communication with the club even though he has the capacity as a leader and is well aware of the team's development situation. As a player and batting coach at Futures for six years from 2018 to 2023, I understand the club's nurturing environment and system well, and in particular, I cited the strength of the team's Futures players." 

Coach Park Jung-kwon said, "When Kim Jae-hyun contacted me for the first time, I thought it was a call to say hello. I got to have a separate meal with the general manager and he spoke as the Futures manager at the meeting. I was grateful for the offer and was half surprised and half burdened. I didn't have much time to think about it due to the team's situation, but I told him that I would do my best the next day. I will relieve the pressure as soon as possible and improve my team until the camp match with the players," he said, looking back on the situation when he was offered the chance to coach Futures. 

Coach Park Jung-kwon, who said, "When I started for Ganghwa from home, I felt so familiar with the way in a year," said, "It wasn't awkward at all. I was a little nervous and burdened, but after the morning meeting and team training, the tension and pressure were relieved." 

"Motivation is important for the players," said Park Jung-kwon, who emphasized, "Rather than threatening the players by taking a lot of training, we plan to make them follow naturally by playing a kind of 'push and pull' with the players. There are many extreme situations in Futures, so even if you work hard, you can give up instantly. Since Futures must be strong to support the first team, we will encourage the players to follow the training volume well. Since we value people's hearts, we will continue to think about how to lead these players." 

Coach Park Jung-kwon, who returned to the team after a year and was in charge of fostering for the future, said, "I am grateful to be back after a year, and I also sincerely thank the fans for welcoming me like this. Last year, the team did not advance to the fall baseball league, which was a one-win difference. One win and two wins can be made by Futures, and in the second half, those one and two wins are very important. We will prepare the camp without a hitch so that the first team can play from the beginning of this year and contribute to the first team. We ask for a lot of attention and support from fans for the advancement of the postseason and the growth of promising players."