He will play in the Korean Series (KS) for the first time in 2,369 games.
Samsung catcher Kang Min-ho (39) of the Samsung Lions enjoyed his first career advance to the KS in his 21st season. Son Ah-seop (36) of the NC Dinosaurs, who fell one win short of advancing to the KS last year, is likely to envy Kang more than anyone else.
Kang Min-ho led Samsung to a 1-0 victory with a solo home run in the eighth inning in Game 4 of the 2024 KBO League Postseason Playoff (PO) held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 19th. Samsung, which beat LG with a 3-1 series record, has succeeded in advancing to the KS for the first time in nine years since 2015.
It was Kang’s first KS win. After joining Lotte in 2004, he quickly became a catcher six times and won the Golden Glove, but failed to achieve a single championship by winning an Olympic gold medal for the national team and signing three free agent contracts. He failed to enter the KS stage, let alone win a championship. Until last year, he played in a total of six fall baseball games, five times for Lotte and one for Samsung, but was not allowed to play in the KS.
Kang Min-ho, who became the most played player in a total of 2,369 games during 21 seasons in the KBO League this year, played in 2,369 games. It was also the largest number of games played by a player who had no experience in KS. It was a long time coming, but this year, when he turned 39, he will be able to play in KS.
As Kang Min-ho relieved his regret, Son’s record for the largest number of participants among players with no KS experience was passed to Son. Son, who joined Lotte in 2007, has played in 2,058 games in 18 years so far this year. He has become a living legend by posting a career-high 2,511 hits, but still has no KS experience. He has advanced to a total of seven post-seasons as six at Lotte and one at NC, but failed to pass the KS threshold. It was regrettable that he failed to advance to the KS after suffering three consecutive sweeps after two consecutive wins at PO last year.
After Son, Jeon Joon-woo (38) of the Lotte Giants played a total of 1,725 games during 16 seasons. Since joining the Lotte Giants in 2008, he has played six fall baseball games as a one-club man, but has no relationship with the KS.
Following Jeon, Jeong Hoon (37) of the same team has played 1,399 games. Jeong Hoon, who joined Hyundai in 2006 as a nurturing player, has played for 15 seasons until this year since debuting in the first team as a nurturing player for the Lotte Giants in 2010.
Kang Min-ho, Son Ah-seop, Jeon Jun-woo and Jung Hoon all hail from or are still members of Lotte. Lotte has failed to advance to the KS since 1999. Players who had their heyday at Lotte had no relationship with KS as the dark period dragged on. 먹튀검증
Among non-Lotte players, Chae Eun-seong (34) of the Hanwha Eagles played 1,267 games, the most among non-KBS players. After joining LG as a pro-baseball player in 2009, he made his debut in the first division in 2014, and moved to the Hanwha Eagles after the 2022 season. He played six fall baseball games for LG, but has never played in the KS. Last year, when he moved to Hanwha, he watched from afar LG was able to overcome his disappointment of winning the KS title for the first time in 29 years.
Lotte’s Yoo Kang-nam (32), who moved to the FA around the same time as Chae, is also in the same situation. Yoo joined LG in 2011 and played a total of 1,208 games in 12 seasons. He played five fall baseball games at LG, but failed to reach the KS, and had to wait and see for LG to win the KS championship after moving to Lotte.
After Son Ah-seop, Jeon Joon-woo, Jung Hoon, Chae Eun-sung, and Yoo Kang-nam, Lotte Oh Sun-jin (1,135 games) and KIA Ko Jong-wook (1,060 games) have played more than 1,000 games among the active players in KS.
Meanwhile, there are 12 players who have played more than 1,000 games in their career but have never stepped on the KS stage, including Lee Dae-ho (former Lotte·1971 games), Lee Dae-dae (former LG-KIA-KT·1603 games), Park Ki-hyuk (former Lotte-KT·1444 games), Choi Tae-won (former Lotte-KT·1,284 games), Kim Kyung-eon (former KIA-Hanwha·1,183 games), Choi Jin-haeng (former Hanwha·1,104 games), Song Kwang-min (former Hanwha·1060 games), Cho Sung-hwan (former Lotte·1032 games), Moon Kyu-hyun (former Lotte·1025 games), Park No-joon (former OB-Hae-Tae-Ssangbangwool·1018 games), Son Joo-joo (former LG-Samsung·1007 games), and Lee Woo-min (former Lotte·1003 games).
Lotte has the largest number of players with five, followed by Hanwha with three. It is a record showing how long the dark ages of the two teams have been.
