“I think I did it with the feeling of, ‘Did you see me?”
NC Dinos captain Son Ah-seop, 35, had a three-hit, four RBI performance in the team’s big win over the Lotte Giants at Changwon NC Park on April 12. With the score 2-1 and runners on first and second in the bottom of the sixth inning, he hit a walk-off, full-count three-run home run off Lotte’s Kim Jin-wook to seal the victory.
The NC fans at Changwon NC Park were ecstatic, and Lotte fans were devastated. The moment of the home run was more thrilling than ever, and Son performed a ceremony for the dugout and the fans. It was an exciting and exhilarating moment.
Looking back on the moment, Son said, “I hit a double in my previous at-bat, and the chances for our team were not going our way. As a senior, I wanted to do something about it.” “At that moment, the pitcher was at a disadvantage and I was nervous. I’m an aggressive hitter, but I was thinking about narrowing the strike zone and not missing a pitch, so I narrowed the zone, and I was looking for the situation that I had drawn up, the pitch that I was looking for, and it was a good result.”
The ‘Nakdong River Derby’ rivalry always attracts a large number of spectators. On this day, 13,074 fans showed up. The average home attendance is 7280, but many Lotte fans from the neighborhood came to the game. For Son Ah-seop, who has been a Lotte One Club member for 15 years, the rivalry gives him an extra adrenaline rush. “When we play Lotte, we have the most spectators. More than on weekends. First of all, the chanting itself is a very good energy for the players. It’s a good feeling to have a little more adrenaline,” he said, adding, “There are a lot of players who are familiar with Lotte and a lot of spectators, so it’s fun and focused.”
He explained that the ceremonies and actions that followed the home run were a natural outgrowth of the moment when he was free of his worries. Despite being a veteran in his mid-30s and a captain, Son had been immersed in baseball until the holidays. He tried to solve his problems through baseball, which had been on a downward spiral for the entire team, including the batting lineup, due to the recent departure of Park Gun-woo and the injury of Park Min-woo.안전놀이터
“Last week, my hitting was off a lot, so I came out to train even on Monday (Oct. 10), my day off, and Park Dae-on helped me train. While training with him, he told me about my problems that he felt and corrected them, so when the results came out, I did a ceremony with the feeling of ‘Did you see me?
NC has somehow managed to make it to the top 5 despite a recent losing streak. With the win, they got back to their winning percentage and reclaimed the fourth spot in the standings. However, the captain emphasized his belief and confidence in the team. He said, “Of course, it could be bad right now. But we have the youngest average age in the KBO right now. We have a lot of players who don’t have full-time experience, so we’re talking about that a lot,” he said. “But I think we have a good group of players and we’re a strong team, so we’re talking a lot about how we can beat our opponents if we’re a little bit more united and unified, and I want to tell them that even though we’re in a crisis, I think it’s a good opportunity for younger players, and I hope they take advantage of it.”
Now, NC will look to add +1 to their 5-game winning streak in the first half of the regular season finale against Lotte on the 13th. The starting pitcher is Taylor Widener. Can NC fulfill everyone’s hopes and finish the first half strong?