Twins day at camp: Molitor likes what he is seeing of newcomer Park

Byung Ho Park isn't the only one having to adjust to a difference in cultures this spring. Sometimes Paul Molitor does, too.

A South Korean sports broadcaster named Sun Shin Kim was so excited to meet the Twins manager Saturday, saying "Hall of Fame! Wow!" she startled Molitor by hugging him during his postgame media session.

Molitor turned red, but gamely continued answering questions about Park, a curiosity in Twins camp but a sensation in his homeland. More than a dozen reporters and cameramen from South Korea attended Saturday's game, which matched Park against Baltimore's own Korean import, outfielder Hyun Soo Kim.

"It's exciting for us and our organization to be getting that type of coverage and support and exposure to the Korean baseball fans," Molitor said. "It's going to be fun for us to watch him get acclimated to Major League Baseball. … Hopefully he will have a successful season."

He's making progress on that last point, Molitor said, after Park scorched a grounder to third and reached on a throwing error, then hit a towering foul pop-up. It's an 0-for-2 on the day and 1-for-8 so far this spring, but Molitor said he's seeing good signs in the Twins' free agent.

So is Park. "Every day is a good experience, every at-bat," the slugger said through an interpreter. "I got the first RBI out of the way the other night, and today I got the first run out of the way."

After Ervin Santana needed only eight pitches in the first inning, Molitor asked aloud whether Santana should get a third inning if his second inning was equally short.

"It's part of the game. There were a lot of battles between batters and pitcher, a lot of foul balls," an unperturbed Santana said. "It's just the first day."

• Ricky Nolasco, coming off a rough stint Thursday, will start Tuesday's split-squad game vs. the Cardinals, while Tyler Duffey makes his second start of the spring in Dunedin vs. the Blue Jays.

• Juan Centeno, a catcher with major league experience with the Mets and Brewers, was all smiles after smacking a home run Saturday, something he's done only three times in nine professional seasons. "It was a slider," he said of Donnie Hart's seventh-inning pitch. "I was waiting for one." The Twins have outhomered their opponents 5-0 this spring.

• Molitor on sky-high pop-ups hit by Park and Miguel Sano: "We had a couple of majestic ones today. My goodness, some things you don't miss about the game, like trying to catch those things."

Kyle Gibson is the final member of the rotation to get a spring start, as the Twins travel to Port Charlotte on Sunday to face Tampa Bay and Jake Odorizzi. Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar are expected to make the trip as well.