NC Dinos captain Son Ah-seop (손아섭) met his 2012 playoff teammates for the first time in 11 years.
Son will start as the designated hitter in Game 1 of the playoffs against the KT Wiz at Katie Wiz Park in Suwon on April 30.
For Son, it will be his first PO appearance in 11 years since 2012, when he played for the Lotte Giants. Back then, Lotte was swept by the SK Wyverns (now the SSG Landers) and failed to reach the Korean Series.
Among the teammates who shared the joys and disappointments with Son were third baseman Hwang Jae-gyun (36) and catcher Jang Jang-woo (33), who now wear KT’s uniform.
When they met before Game 1 of the POs, Son had a playful warning for his close former teammates.
“Instead, KT’s starting pitchers have fast slide steps,” Son said, referring to Sung-woo’s low stolen base rate (.146-89, 13 of 89), “and if there is a weakness, you have to dig in. Sung-woo has always competed since elementary school, but it doesn’t work for me,” he said wittily.
“When I go to bat, he (catcher Sung-woo) will definitely talk to me and distract me from concentrating,” Son said, adding, “I’ll just listen in one ear and out the other and go my own way.”
He and Hwang Jae-gyun, who is a year older than him, had a mild nervous battle before the match, saying, “I didn’t know you guys were coming up” (Hwang Jae-gyun) and “Of course I came to get my brothers” (Son Asup).
“We talked a lot (before the game), but we didn’t say anything nice because we’re not really friends,” Son said, adding, “I’m going to win today’s game so I can make fun of Jae Gyun. We don’t usually compliment each other,” he laughed.
Despite being nervous about the playoffs for the first time in 11 years, Son Asob was in a premiere mood.
“Whether it’s the semifinals or the playoffs, it’s just a process to get to the end goal,” he said, adding, “I’m going to keep doing the same thing.”
He didn’t say much to his juniors, saying, “If they get more emotional or talk more because it’s the playoffs, they’ll definitely think more. I don’t want to create that situation at all,” he said, adding, “I want to keep the same pace, one game at a time.” 파워볼분석