“I think NC fans should all get their winter jumpers ready.”
It is by no means fluttering. It is an expression of his strong will to do his best until the Korean Series, the last stage of this year. This is the story of NC`s “captain” Son Ah-seop (36). NC was evaluated as a low-ranking player due to a major power leak last season, but made the playoffs, showing off its “dark horse” performance. In addition, Son has kept his promise of “Autumn Baseball at Changwon” that he made at last year’s spring camp. This year, Son is aiming higher.
Son Ah-seop, who met at Enex Field at Tucson Reed Park in Arizona, the U.S., where the NC spring camp is underway on the 2nd (local time), expressed his determination, saying, “This year, I want to be the last team to finish the season.”
Son Ah-seop is the “captain” of the NC Dinosaurs this year as well as last year. As the eldest brother Park Seok-min (39) announced his retirement at the end of last season, he became the eldest brother of the team. I feel the absence of Park Seok-min, who was with him last year, especially.”
“The mood of the team is the same as last year. We are training well under good atmosphere. We will lead the team well so that we can continue the good atmosphere until the end of the camp,” he said. “The biggest part is (Park) Seok-min’s absence. Last year, Seok-min led the camp well, but this year, I feel strange as I am the best senior. I think I need to do better by taking over the role of Seok-min.”
Son showed off his best performance as he did in his prime last year. He recorded a batting average of 0.339 with five homers and 65 RBIs in 140 games, topping the list of “hitters” and most hits. Thanks to this, Son has been busy as a “single-minded guest” at various award ceremonies.
Notably, he is set to achieve a great 業 this year. He has set a new record for the largest number of hits in the Korean pro baseball league. The most hits in the current league are 2504 that Park Yong-taek wrote. Son had a total of 2,416 hits during 17 seasons. If he has 89 hits this season, he will break the record with 2,505. Considering that he had more than 100 hits for 14 consecutive seasons from 2010 to 2023, Son is highly likely to break the record.
“I had a very happy season last year. However, I will bury last year as a memory, and I am preparing to have a better season this year. I have some shortcomings but I am trying to improve my physical condition as soon as possible,” he said. “I am working out to participate in 144 games for the first time this year. I am also preparing with a focus on maintaining my good feeling last year.”
“I want to attend many award ceremonies (laughs),” she said with a big smile. “The title that I crave is the most hits with the batting champion just like last year. When I received it once last year, I became greedy to get it again. If I win the most hits again, I think I will be able to break Korea’s record. So, if I do what I have been doing while being careful of injuries, I will be able to set a new record.”
Then, who will be the biggest competitor in this year’s “Hitting King” and “Most Hits”? He chose Hong Chang-ki and Koo Ja-wook (Samsung) as the “Hitting King,” and Kim Hye-sung (Kium) as the “Most Hits.”
“There are a lot of players who are good in the league. Personally, when it comes to competing for the title, the most hits are from Kim Hye-sung. It’s because he performed so well last year,” Son said. “The two hitters are Hong Chang-ki and Koo Ja-wook. As both players are playing in their prime, I think they will definitely be in the top ranks this year. I will prepare well in good health so as not to fall behind them.”
Finally, he promised his fans that he would let them wear NC winter jumpers. He kept his promise that he would let fans watch fall baseball games in Changwon during last year’s spring camp. He is committed to keeping it again this time. 꽁머니
“I think I say similar things every year. It would be the best if we could show our fans how we win, but that’s not something we can do as we please,” Son said. “However, we can do our best to entertain fans with games that our team always does its best at the ballpark. We will do our best until the end.” “My goal is to finish the season at the very end, so I think all fans should go to the NC Dinos mall and prepare winter jumpers,” Son said with a smile.