YANKS FOR THAT

Thunder hitters, Yankees pitchers help Trenton grab Game 1 of ELCS

TRENTON >> Hoy Jun Park just wants to learn.

It’s the biggest takeaway when you talk to the 23-year-old infielder about his 2019 season, the best he’s had as a pro since the Yankees signed him in 2014 as an international free agent.

“I’m trying to get better at baseball and as a person,” Park said. “I just want to learn whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing. This is my fifth year and every year I just learn more about baseball.”

He’s finding answers to questions like “How do I win the fight with the pitcher?” and “How do I play in over 100 games for a year?”

Park batted .272/.363/.370 with a .733 OPS in 113 regular season games. He posted career highs in average (.272), hits (113), doubles (20), RBIs (41) and SLG (.370) for a full season league.

While Park thinks he can be even better, he attributed the success to a better understanding of his surroundings.

“The first year, I didn’t know about American baseball at all,” Park said. “I just learned every year, especially this year. This year, I was like, ‘OK, now I know what’s going on.’”

Park grew up in South Korea and was originally scouted by Major League clubs at a tournament there, then later at a camp in Los Angeles before his final year of high school.

The Yankees eventually signed him for $1 million and brought him over to begin working his way through their system.

Park was a South Atlantic League All-Star in 2017 and an Eastern League All-Star this season.

“The pitcher is the big difference in American baseball,” Park said. “(In Korea), some of them throw hard with a nasty breaking ball, but almost all the pitchers throw really hard here.

“I think I’m getting better. There’s much better to come. Just natural things. If you want to learn, you have to get better, be efficient.”

Park was back in the Thunder’s lineup for Game 1 of the Eastern League Championship Series against Bowie on Tuesday night.

He wasn’t in the lineup for the clincher against Reading after he was hit on the right wrist during the 10th inning of Game 2 last Thursday.

The Thunder fans were glad to have one of their favorites back on the field.

“They always say ‘Hoy! Hoy! Hoy!’ for me when I bat,” Park said. “It’s great. It’s awesome.”

KYLE FRANKO — TRENTONIAN PHOTO Yankees pitcher Jordan Montgomery, on a rehab assignment with the Thunder, walks off the field at the end of the second inning of Game 1 of the ELCS against Bowie on Tuesday night.

KYLE FRANKO — TRENTONIAN PHOTO Thunder’s Hoy Jun Park hits a single against Bowie during Game 1 of the ELCS on Tuesday night.