NC Dinos manager Kang In-kwon joined many others in South Korean baseball in expressing admiration for his designated hitter Son Ah-seop, with the player on the cusp of breaking the league’s all-time hits record.
Coming into Thursday’s game against the Doosan Bears in Seoul, Son was tied with former LG Twins star Park Yong-taik on the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) career hits list with 2,504.
Son, long known for his single-minded focus on his craft, will play in his 2,044th career game Thursday. Park finished his career with 2,237 games, though the final one was a ceremonial sendoff game in 2022, two years after he’d formally announced his retirement.
Son, 36, could become the first KBO player with 3,000 hits before turning 40, and Kang marveled at the player’s drive and work ethic.
“He wouldn’t have been in this position, about to set a great record, without all the hard work,” Kang said in his pregame media scrum at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. “He has been taking really 커뮤니티 good care of himself and he has always maintained great focus each and every game. If he keeps this up, I think he will continue to put up big numbers.”
Son tied Park with a two-hit game Wednesday. He is riding a nine-game hitting streak to equal his season high, and has hit safely in 14 of the 15 games so far this month.
Both of those two hits in Wednesday’s game came off softly-hit balls that landed in no-man’s land in shallow left field. Kang said he hoped Lady Luck will continue to smile on Son.
“He told me he wasn’t paying attention to the record, but I am sure it’s on his mind. It’d be nice if he can take care of it early,” Kang said. “He hasn’t been in his best form lately but he’s been lucky. I look forward to seeing some good swings today.”