NC Dinos Son Ah-seop got what he hoped for last season.
When it comes to contact ability alone, there has been no player who can match Son for the past 10 years. It was a hit maker. In return, the FA alone played twice. The total amount of money earned from the contract alone is 16.2 billion won. He has both money and honor.
However, a player who hits so well has never won a batting title. He had three titles of most hits. He desperately wanted to be the batting champion. He had 152 hits in the 2022 season, but saw his batting average plummet to 277. Some say that Son is old now.
He wrote a perfect reversal scenario in preparation for the 2023 season. He posted a batting average of 339 and 187 hits. He won two titles in batting average and the most hits. It was an emotional moment.
Son, however, is not satisfied and is sweating profusely at the Tucson camp in Arizona, the U.S. “My personal goal is to become the batting champion again. I attended award ceremonies again late last year for the first time in six or seven years. Obviously, I felt that a player needs to play baseball well. I feel motivated by wanting to attend award ceremonies again at the end of this year,” Son said.
Son Ah-seop continued, “To introduce my bigger ambition, I am thinking about making 200 hits before I get older. Now that I am 36, I think it can become difficult if I get older. I want to challenge myself when I am even one year younger.” No one has made 200 hits since Seo Geon-chang (currently KIA, then Nexen) in 2014. It is difficult, but I am free to set a goal. I always want to set a high goal.”
As mentioned above, he had 187 hits last season. He is trying hard to maintain that good feeling. “I didn’t have a good balance from the beginning of last season. I have had a good feeling since June,” Son said. “So this year, I’m trying hard to show what I liked from the opening.” Son said, adding 13 hits seems impossible.
Son’s desire to win is indispensable when explaining Son. He still throws ground balls and sprints, and regrets losing games. So, it gives the impression that he will achieve any goal. Son said, “I was not born as a talented player. The order of nomination was too late, and I had never played in a national youth team. However, he hated losing games since he was young. Even though he is not talented, he seems to be able to play in a professional team with his competitive spirit.”
Son, who has had three-digit hits for the 14th consecutive year, has achieved 2,416 hits in total. If he hits 88 this season, he will tie Park Yong-taek’s 2,504 hits. He will likely emerge as the new No. 1 ranking. “I can’t guarantee that I will set a new record this season, but if I have a chance to set a new record, I would like to make a great hit,” Son said with a big smile.