“Stay in the ballpark a little longer for the younger guys.”
Kang Min-ho (39), a veteran catcher for the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization, recently met with reporters on the field and revealed a conversation he had with Choi Hyung-woo (41-KIA Tigers) two years ago about his future. What kind of conversation did Kang Min-ho, born in 1985, and Choi Hyung-woo, born in 1983, have?
Kang Min Ho said, “(Choi) was having a hard time last year. He told me that it was hard for him too, so I told him, ‘Don’t think about taking off your clothes. I also said that the seniors should stay on the field a little longer for the juniors, and I still say this to him when we eat together.”
Kang Min-ho is 39 years old and Choi Hyung-woo is 41. They’re old enough to retire and move on with their lives, but they’re still the team’s core power and moral support. Choi Hyung-woo leads the team in batting average with 82 games, 89 hits, 17 home runs, and 80 RBIs, while Kang Min-ho is batting .288 with 68 hits, 8 home runs, and 41 RBIs in 87 games with the veteran pitching lead.
Both players’ names appear frequently on the all-time career lists as a result of their diligence in taking care of their bodies during their two-decade professional careers.
Choi became the second player in KBO history to reach 4,000 RBIs in the first half of the season, passing Lee Seung-yeop of Doosan to become the league’s all-time leader in RBIs. He also leads the league in RBIs (1,622), hits (2,412), and home runs (390), and he broke several records this year, including becoming the oldest player to hit a grand slam and the oldest All-Star Game MVP.
Kang Min-ho is a living history of the KBO’s catcher position.
He ranks ninth in career RBIs (1206), 11th in home runs (327), and 16th in hits (2057), all of which are first among catchers. He’s up there with the best of the best in a position that’s notoriously demanding and injury-prone.
That’s why he has no intention of leaving the field now. 안전놀이터 He can’t even relate to the saying, “Leave when the applause is on. “People call it greed, but I don’t think it’s greed. The longer we play, the longer the juniors can wear the jersey,” he said, adding, “Of course, if we lose our competitiveness, we’ll have to take it off, but I don’t think we need to set a time to retire while we’re still competitive.”
Still, he’s 39 years old, so he can’t stop thinking about where he’ll live. “I’m not just a professional baseball player wearing a uniform,” says Kang Min-ho. I’m in a position where I have to survive because of my age. If my performance drops, I have to take off my clothes, so I’m working hard every day,” he said.
As he approaches retirement,
Kang Min-ho’s first and last goal is to reach the Korean Series, something he has only dreamed of since joining the professional ranks in 2004. He played for Lotte for 14 years and is now in his seventh year with Samsung, but the Korean Series has always been a dream for him.
“My goal is to at least smell the Korean Series. I heard that a lot of reporters come to the Korean Series. I’ve never experienced it until now,” he laughed, adding, “The team is in a good mood right now. Of course, the team should do what they can without worrying about winning like now, but I have a short time left in my professional life, so I will try to smell the Korean Series as soon as possible before then.”