“I feel like I’m aging backwards”
“National shortstop” Samsung coach Park Jin-man (48) admired Kang Min-ho (39)’s unwavering performance ahead of the trouble.
Aug. 23 is Baseball Day. It was established to commemorate the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medal. Park Jin-man, the national shortstop who played the key role in the Korean baseball team and defended the net, is now the head coach of Samsung.
At a meeting with reporters ahead of the game against Lotte at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Sunday, Park Jin-man said, “It’s already been 16 years. When was that time?” when he talked about the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
As coach Park Jin-man said, a long time has passed. Some of the players who played for the national team at the time took off their uniforms.
Coach Park Jin-man, who had been mired in deep memories for a while, suddenly mentioned Kang Min-ho. Kang was a player who had a home turf with then KIA Futures coach Jin Gap-yong. Despite the imminent danger, he is still guarding Samsung’s home turf.
“It’s also really great that Kang Min-ho, who played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is still a player,” coach Park Jin-man said, “First of all, it’s really great that he’s been active so far as a catcher,” expressing surprise that Kang Min-ho is still playing as an active player.
Kang is not just prolonging his career as a player. Kang, who has a batting average of .313 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs in 117 games this season, is a major contributor to Samsung’s solo advance to second place. 메이저사이트
“(Kang) Minho seems to age backwards. Maybe it’s because he has become more and more interested in baseball, but he has become more experienced,” coach Park Jin-man said. “I’m sure he has his own way of taking care of his body. Otherwise, he would not have been able to play as a player until now.”
Manager Park Jin-man said, “If you keep running as a catcher, you will definitely lose speed. However, your swing speed does not drop at all even at bat. It seems that you are catching the most stolen bases these days. I think the rate of blocking stolen bases is higher than that of the beginning of the season,” expressing admiration for Kang’s continued performance as well as his heyday.
I can’t believe this is his 21st year in the professional league. Even if he retires right now, he has accumulated a record that will make him a legendary catcher. He has 2,098 hits in his career, exceeding 2,000, and has 336 home runs, the most ever among catchers. He has already exercised his right as an FA three times. Kang Min-ho will be eligible to become an FA once again after the end of next season. “Of course,” coach Park Jin-man said on the possibility that Kang Min-ho will exercise his right as an FA again, adding, “I don’t know how long Min-ho will be able to retire.”
Did he hear such a message from manager Park Jin-man? In the game against the Lotte Giants on the day, Kang hit his 17th homer of this season, which turned the game around 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, and laid a stepping stone for his team to win 5-3.
“I don’t think I’m going to lose even though I’m losing the team’s atmosphere recently. I thought I could win if I get a score that I keep up with, but I think I was able to win the game because I got a big score in a short period of time,” said Kang Min-ho, who looked back on the game. “I’ve run well so far, and I’ll continue to run well. I want to finish this season really well,” he said, vowing to contribute to Samsung’s victory in the Korean Series. This year marks his 21st year as a professional, but he has no experience in participating in the Korean Series yet. If he continues his performance that he has forgotten his age, he will soon be able to achieve his dream of winning the Korean Series.