Kang Min-ho (39) of the Samsung Lions will finally perform in the Korean Series. He is now aiming for the title of the champion catcher.
Samsung defeated the LG Twins 1-0 in the fourth round of the playoffs (three wins out of five) held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Sunday. Samsung, which had three wins and one loss in the series, will take the stage in the Korean Series. It will now face the Kia Tigers, the winner of the regular season. It is the first time in 31 years that Samsung and KIA have met in the Korean Series since 1993.
Kang displayed the most decisive performance on the day. He hit a home run that broke the 0 balance. At the top of the eighth inning, with three balls and one strike, Kang hit a 146 km fastball at the fifth pitch thrown by Son Joo-young, and hit a solo shot over the left-center fence. In the three previous playoff games, Kang had a batting average of 0.182 (two hits in 11 times at bat) and a slugging percentage of 0.182, but he proved himself as a troubleshooter at a critical moment.
This marks the first time that Kang will play in the Korean Series since his debut. Since his debut with the Lotte Giants in 2004, he has not played in the Korean Series in 20 years. He played 2,369 regular-season games, setting an individual record of most appearances by a KBO batter, but has no record of participating in the Korean Series. Among the batters who played in 2,000 games, Kang and Son Ah-seop of the NC Dinos were the only ones who failed to play in the Korean Series. Kang will be freed from this year’s disgraceful record.
After the game, Kang Min-ho said, “I really wanted to do an interview after confirming my qualification for the Korean Series. It took me just 21 years to get here. As I worked hard, I got a good opportunity. As the atmosphere is good right now, I want to fight in the Korean Series without any regrets,” expressing his feelings on the stage of the Korean Series.
Regarding the home run situation, he said, “It was 0-0 and the ball count was 3 balls and 1 strike. I thought about seeing another ball, but I thought about hitting it because it’s a count that I can hit aggressively. Actually, there was a waiting sign on the bench, but I didn’t see it. At first, there was a hitting sign. I just thought it was 1 strike, so I had to hit it. Later, it turned out that there was a waiting sign,” he said, revealing the behind-the-scenes story.
Kang Min-ho, who hit his first homer of the post season this year, must have been very excited. However, Kang focused on calming down his mind as he had to lead the pitcher again by wearing a catcher mask. “After hitting the homer, I felt that I was reminded a lot by myself,” Kang said. “I went to the locker room and took deep breaths by myself. I thought I shouldn’t get excited because I still have more innings left in defense. We had six outs until we won 토토사이트. I tried to stay calm,” he said after hitting the homer.
The fact that he failed to play in the Korean Series throughout his career was also a complex to Kang. Now, Kang is committed to erasing his disgraceful record by winning the title. “There has always been a label (to me, he is the only batter who failed to win the Korean Series among batters who have played in 2,000 games). I got rid of the label. While I’m at it, I’ll try to remove the label of a player without a championship,” Kang said.
He thanked his fans for their enthusiastic support. “Fans cheered for us not only during the post season but also during the regular season. I feel that there are so many fans of Samsung every time. If we play in a region other than Daegu, there may be fewer fans who support our team, but the seats are always full. I am really grateful. It gives me a lot of strength to our players as well,” Kang said, bending his head down.
Kang Min-ho, who remained silent in the first and second playoff games, led the team’s batters, instead. In addition, pitchers such as Denny Reyes, Won Tae-in, Hwang Dong-jae, left-handers Lee Seung-hyun, Kim Yoon-soo, Lim Chang-min, and Kim Jae-yoon played well to lead the team’s victory. In the fourth playoff game, when his teammates were silent, Kang stood out as a troubleshooter.
Kang Min-ho said, “I’m so grateful to my juniors. I finished the first and second games well, and after losing the third games, my juniors came. I asked him to solve it now.” He jokingly said, “I need to defend. You guys need to release the game.” But as a result, I grabbed him by the collar and led him to the Korean Series.”
Samsung will now face Kia in the Korean Series. During this year’s regular season, Samsung was inferior to Kia in matches with four wins and 12 losses. Kang also had two homers, nine RBIs and four runs batted in (tens of 10 hits in 49 times at bat) at 14 matches against Kia. “I think we are a strong team. We have good teamwork and strong pitching capabilities,” Kang said of Kia. “However, if we follow the current trend, we will be able to perform well enough.”
Meanwhile, Samsung faced Haitai, the predecessor of Kia, three times in the Korean Series. And the team never won a match. Samsung lost the title to Haitai with one win and four losses in the 1986 Korean Series, and failed to reach the top spot by blocking Haitai again with one win and four losses in 1987. In 1993, Samsung also lost the championship trophy to Haitai with two wins, one draw and four losses. The Tigers will face off in the Korean Series for the first time in 31 years. Can Samsung produce a different result this time.
