Son Ah-seop of the NC Dinos is now the new all-time hits leader in South Korean baseball.
Son picked up his 2,505th career hit on Thursday against the Doosan Bears to move past former LG Twins star Park Yong-taik to the top of the career hits rankings in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
Son came into the game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul tied with Park at 2,504 hits. As the Dinos’ designated hitter batting second, Son broke Park’s mark with a single off Bears starter Raul Alcantara with two outs in the top of the sixth inning.
Park finished his career with 2,504 hits in 2,237 games. This was Son’s 2,044th game.
Park established the new record with his 2,319th hit on June 23, 2018, when he surpassed ex-Samsung Lions slugger Yang Joon-hyuk with a four-hit performance. And almost six years to the day, Son dethroned Park as the KBO’s hit king.
Son grounded out to second baseman Kang Seung-ho in the top of the first inning, and then struck out swinging on Alcantara’s fastball in the top of the third.
Son finally took care of business with two outs in the top sixth. Down 1-2 in the count, Son swung on a forkball from Alcantara and sent it through the hole on the left for the record.
In the process, he extended his hitting streak to a season-best 10 games. He has hit safely in 15 of 16 games so far in June.
Son advanced to third on Park Kun-woo’s ground rule double, but was left stranded when Matt Davidson struck out.
The game was put on hold before the start of the bottom sixth to celebrate Son’s accomplishment.
Standing behind the home plate, Son received a commemorative plaque designed by the Dinos. His manager Kang In-kwon and teammate Park Kun-woo presented him with flowers. Bears captain Yang Suk-hwan also gave Son a bouquet of flowers, as the rest of the Bears team came out of the dugout and gave Son a round of applause.
Park, the previous record holder currently working as a television analyst, was also on hand for the occasion, and joined the others in congratulating Son on the field.
Son bowed toward the Bears’ dugout on the first base side in show of his appreciation, drawing cheers from the Bears’ fan section above the dugout.
Son then high-fived his teammates standing outside the third base dugout, and acknowledged a section of Dinos fans before returning to the bench.
Son, 36, made his KBO debut with the Lotte Giants in 2007. He had his first career hit on April 7, 2007, but it ended up being his 커뮤니티 only hit of that year, as a broken hand suffered later that April sidelined him for the rest of the season.
Son became an everyday player in 2010 and has been one of the KBO’s most consistent hitters since.
Son recorded at least 100 hits in every season from 2010 to 2023, and his 1,994 hits and a .327 batting average in that 14-year span are tops in the KBO.
Son has led the league in hits four times, most recently in 2023 with 187. He also won his first batting title in 2023 with a .339 average.
After 15 years with the Giants, based in his hometown of Busan, Son signed a four-year contract with the Dinos as a free agent in December 2021.