Kang Min-ho, the hostess of Samsung's professional baseball team, is having a hotter fall than ever.
Kang Min-ho, who has never experienced a Korean series since his professional debut, expressed his earnestness by saying, "I want to smell the Korean series."
Kang Min-ho hit a wedge solo home run over the left fence in the 6th inning leading 3-0 in the home match against KT at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 23rd.
Samsung, who won 4-0, pushed out KT on the day and took the lead alone.
It was the first time in six years since 2015, the last year of the 'dynasty', that Samsung ranked first in October.
Kang Min-ho's bat blew out again on the 24th.
In the two-out at the end of the 8th inning, who lost 3 to 1 in the home game with SSG, he drew a two-run arch that pulled the ball from the middle of pitcher Kim Taek-hyung, who changed, and hit the top of the left side of the crowd.
As the batted ball crossed the fence, Kang Min-ho let out a roar that is rarely seen.
Thanks to Kang Min-ho's equalizing home run, Samsung maintained a half-game lead over KT.
Kang Min-ho, who contacted me on the 25th, explained the situation with a home run tied.
“When I analyzed the data of the opposing pitcher, I was the type to throw the fastball outward, and to compete with the fastball and the forkball two-pitch. It was an advantageous count for me, so I thought that the timing of the fastball would not be too late, and I should focus on the center of the fastball, but it was a good result. lead to,” he said.
He continued, “I felt a home run at the right moment. I think so,” he said, explaining the reason for his hot roar.
Kang Min-ho, who debuted at Lotte in 2004, has been a professional for 18 years, but has no experience in the Korean series yet.
I experienced fall baseball six times during my time at Lotte, but I was frustrated every time at the threshold of the Korean series.
After 2018, when he wore a Samsung uniform for 4 years and 8 billion won as a free agent, his team was hovering at the bottom of the list due to his own sluggishness.
In the last season of his free agent contract with Samsung, Kang Min-ho was revived like a lie.
He played 120 games this season, batting 30%, 18 homers, and 67 RBIs, and his OPS (slugging percentage + on-base percentage) reached 0.866.
Here, he led the Samsung mound by guarding the house resolutely, and as a result, Samsung rose to the 'October No.
Going straight to the Korean series is greedy, but Kang Min-ho emphasized 'sincerity'. “I think we have to go according to order. We came to this place without thinking that we will also be in first place now, and I think that if we do it in the right way without being greedy, good results will come. Even if it doesn't work, even if we get to 2nd place, I think we will be able to advance to the Korean Series by doing well.
Although the team performance emphasized purity, he could not hide his desire to step on the Korean series stage for the first time in 18 years of his professional debut. Kang Min-ho said, "Actually, I joke with Oh Jae-il (from Doosan and have a lot of experience in the Korean series), 'Hyung, let's smell the Korean series before retiring'. Above all, I'm always sorry to Samsung fans. If the 'good results' of going straight to the Korean Series are made, I think that I will forgive the lack of help to the team. The season is not over yet, so I will work hard with the players to finish it well."
This year's Korean Series will be held as a neutral match at Gocheok Dome as the league schedule has been delayed due to the Tokyo Olympics and quarantine scandals. Samsung's home stadium, Lions Park, has not yet played a postseason after opening, but even if Samsung enters the fall baseball game this year, unfortunately, Lions Park has to close. It must have been disappointing, but Kang Min-ho promised to meet at Gocheok Dome with a clever reply.
"I want to invite you to the Lions Park, but the fans will be invited to Gocheok Dome because it can be cold. We will prepare well so that we can play baseball at Gocheok Dome."