Son A-seop (35), the 6.4 billion won captain of the NC Dinos, joined the ranks of legends by summoning Park Yong-taek and Yang Jun-hyuk. 스포츠토토

The NC Dinos won a 5-4 come-from-behind victory in the 7th game of the season against the Doosan Bears in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Changwon NC Park on the 14th. As a result of this day, he avenged the loss the previous day and rose to 3rd place with 32 wins and 25 losses in the season. 

Son A-seop started as the right fielder and contributed to the victory with 2 hits and 1 point in 5 at-bats. Son A-seop, who was recording 2299 hits before the game, succeeded in building the third 2300 hit milestone in the history of the KBO League. 

The initial flow slowed down. He was lethargic with a fly ball to left field in the 1st and 3rd innings and a foul fly to 3rd base in the 5th inning. The hit came in the fourth at-bat. In the 7th inning, trailing by 3-4, Lee Young-ha, first baseman, scored his 2300th hit with a hit to left-center of the opponent. It was the moment when Park Yong-taek of LG (2504) and Yang Jun-hyeok of Samsung (2318) stepped on the 2300 hit mark for the third time in history. Son Ah-seop took advantage of Park Min-woo’s timely hit in the game, which resumed after a rain break, and even scored a tie.

Son Ah-seop did not stop. In the 9th inning against 4-4, he hit his 2301st hit with a shortstop infield hit, backing up his endgame victory. He was substituted with Cheon Jae-hwan, the runner-up, and Cheon Jae-hwan was responsible for the final score when Jason Martin hit a come-from-behind finish. 

Son A-seop said after the game, “Leaving 2300 hits, I felt sorry for the team because of the disappointing play in defense today. Still, 2300 hits helped the team, so I’m a little happy. I hope that the next hit will also be a hit that will help the team.”

The achievement of the record was credited to the fans. Son Ah-seop said, “I remember the cheers of the fans until I recorded 2300 hits. I think it was possible because of the support and encouragement of the fans,” he said. “Today’s hit is now the last hit. I will run for the team’s victory again from tomorrow,” he promised to play in front of NC fans.