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Kang Min-ho, who has played 2237 games for his manager. Tomorrow, a new record.
Samsung Lions' Kang Min-ho has finally joined the ranks of LG Twins legend Park Yong-taek.
Kang Min-ho started at No. 6-catcher against the LG Twins in Jamsil on Sunday, tying Park's record for most games played in a regular season with 2,237.
After graduating from Pocheol Institute of Technology, Kang joined the Lotte Giants with the 17th overall pick in the third round of the 2004 Korean Baseball Entry Draft, making his first-team debut on September 19 of that year against the Busan Hyundai Unicorns, appearing in three games.
He has been playing in the first team since 2005 and has been a full-time starter since 2006. With a strong second base throw and good bat, Kang Min-ho has developed into the next generation of batting managers and is now in his 21st year of playing, despite the physically demanding position of catcher.
After playing 1495 games in a Lotte uniform until 2017, Kang Min-ho moved to Samsung in his second free agency and has played 742 games there since.
Kang Min-ho, who finished last year with 2233 games, five games shy of the record, started this season healthy and played in all four games on the opening day.
In 2236 games until the LG Electronics League on Sept. 26, Kang Min-ho had a career batting average of 2.769 with 6 RBIs. With 1992 hits, he is eight shy of the 2,000-hit mark and has 320 home runs and 1167 RBIs.
Samsung manager Park Jin-man said of Kang Min-ho's record-breaking performance, "It's amazing that he's been able to stay healthy and play in the starting lineup so far, even though the position of catcher is physically demanding. However, I think playing the most games is many times more valuable than playing in other positions," he said, adding that Kang Min-ho's tie for the most games played is meaningful.
On the 28th, Jamsil LG Electronics will play 2238 games, a new record. "We'll set the record tomorrow (the 28th)," Park said, adding, "It doesn't matter when we set the record because we'll continue to set records." The KBO will honor Kang Min-ho with a commemorative award in accordance with its recognition policy if he breaks the record for most games played.
Kang Min-ho struck out swinging with the bases loaded in the top of the first inning, but came up to bat in the top of the fourth inning and hit a single to right to celebrate his record.
In the top of the sixth inning, Kang Min-ho led off with a walk, and when Kang Kang-ul laid down a sacrifice bunt, Kang Min-ho saw that the third base was empty and ran to third base to make it safe. He followed that up with a grounder to second base in the eighth inning and a grounder to third base in the 10th inning. He finished the day 1-for-4 with one RBI and one walk.