Fans surrounded Field 6; more than a dozen Korean photographers and journalists formed a semicircle around the batting cage; and even some of his new Twins teammates stopped what they were doing to pay attention.
Byung Ho Park stepped into the batter's box for his first official workout with the Twins with all eyes on him, laid down two bunts, then took a mighty cut at Class AAA Rochester manager Mike Quade's half-speed batting-practice pitch.
He missed.
OK, it was an unfortunate start, even mildly embarrassing, for the Twins' top offseason acquisition, but things quickly got a lot better for Park. By the end of his first day in uniform, the Korean slugger had made a strong first impression on his new manager.
"He's got a lot of really positive things. Obviously, his timing if off — it is for everybody right now — but it's good to see him out there working," Paul Molitor said shortly after the first full workout of his second season as manager. "He's adjusting and fitting in really well."
That's the goal for the next five weeks, and Molitor understands that Park is under pressure to prove his 50-home run power in South Korea will translate to the major leagues. Molitor is intent upon finding the best way to help him make that transition, a project that will probably (though not definitively) involve a lot of at-bats this spring.
"It's not a given. I'm going to have to try to get a read whether more in-game work or more practice work is going to be better," Molitor said. "My feeling is if I was in his shoes that I would want to try to get at-bats."
Park said he enjoyed his first day, and was impressed with how organized Molitor's camp is. He also likes working on his first-base defense with former manager Tom Kelly. "He has many little details," Park said with a smile.
