A word from the captain that once again rekindled the determination of the Dinosaur Corps.
“I’m truly proud of you guys.”
A single word from the captain brought together the hearts of the Dinosaur Corps players who had been shaken.
NC Dinos are showing impressive form this season. During the off-season, Yang Eui-ji, Noh Jin-hyuk, and Won Jong-hyun left for the Doosan Bears, Lotte Giants, and Kiwoom Heroes through free agency, respectively, and although key players suffered from major and minor injuries, they were not ranked in the bottom tier.
Despite being evaluated as a last-place candidate before the opening, NC held on well, staying in the top rankings throughout the regular season. At the end of the season, they unfortunately lost 3rd place after a fierce battle with SSG Landers, but NC is clearly one of the best-fighting teams in this year's KBO League.
The background to NC’s success like this is Captain Son Ah-seop’s leadership. There is a lot of praise for Son Ah-seop within the NC team, not only among the players but also at the front office.
Regarding his evaluation when he met with a reporter last July, he said, “I hear a lot of stories about my leadership, but it’s because my juniors did a good job. “The juniors do not deviate from each other and move well with one goal, and NC is achieving good results,” he said. “In the end, it is all thanks to the juniors.” They treated us well and united us as one. As the team performed well, I, as the captain, was put in the spotlight. He said, “Thank you to his juniors,” but it is clear that Son Ah-seop’s presence is absolute in NC.
Above all, his greatest achievement was to enable young players to display 120% of their skills on the field without worrying about what the seniors thought. Son Ah-seop said, “You should not pay attention at the baseball field. He explained, “I hope young players can play to their heart’s content at the baseball field without worrying about what others think.”
‘Quote Time’ has also become a good culture within the NC team. Throughout the regular season, the NC players gathered in front of the dugout before the game under the leadership of Son Ah-seop, said the famous quote of the day, and everyone shouted together to fight. As a result, the players, who felt less pressure and were more determined, were able to show off their best performance on the field.
Son Ah-seop’s leadership shines even in fall baseball. Looking at the NC club's official YouTube video, Son Ah-seop was on duty for the famous quote ahead of the first game of the wild card match against Doosan held at Changwon NC Park on the 19th.
In fact, the atmosphere in NC at the time was not good at all. As mentioned earlier, they battled with SSG for 3rd place, but in the 2-game series against the Gwangju KIA Tigers on the 16th and 17th, they all bowed out and ended up losing 3rd place.
In addition, 'super ace' Eric Feddy, who had 20 wins, 6 losses, an ERA of 2.00, and 209 strikeouts in 30 regular league games (180.1 innings) this season, was also left out of the series entry. It was the aftermath of being hit on the forearm by Go Jong-wook's batted ball in the Gwangju KIA game on the 16th. Although it has never happened so far, the possibility of an 'upset' in which the 5th place team beats the 4th place team and advances to the semi-playoffs was raised more than ever.
In the midst of this, Son Ah-seop said to the players, “I am truly proud of you. “Seriously,” he said, “we have nothing to lose anyway.” No need to say anything else. “The postseason is the same,” he said. Even though he was classified as a last-place candidate before the opening, it was a word that comforted the hearts of the players who won tickets to the fall baseball season, boosted their morale, and relieved them of their burden.
Was the captain's sincerity conveyed? NC, which suffered from empty balls in the last two games of the regular season, scoring only 11 hits and 3 points, showed off its sharper offensive ability in the first game of the wild card game. Starting pitcher Tanner Turley was shaky, allowing one run each in the top of the first, second, and third inning, but the mood changed immediately with Seo Ho-cheol's bases loaded to left in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Then, follow-up hitter Kim Hyeong-jun also hit a home run with consecutive hitters, drawing a solo arch that went over the left wall. This is the first time that a grand slam and a home run by consecutive batters have occurred in the wild card game.
The score was tied again with Tanner's 2 earned runs in the top of the 5th inning, but the NC team did not waver. In the bottom of the 5th inning, taking advantage of an error and a wild pitch by the opposing defense, Jason Martin scored and took the lead again, and in the bottom of the 7th inning with 2 outs and the bases loaded, Seo Ho-cheol hit a timely double with 2 RBIs that passed the left fielder's keys. In the top of the 8th inning, the defense was shaky and allowed one run, but Martin's grounder RBI and Kim Hyeong-jun's 3-run hit to left in the bottom of the 8th ensured victory. Although he contributed 3 runs in the top of the 9th inning, it had nothing to do with the game.
Did you say it’s called Nangjungjichu (囊中之錐)? After debuting as a professional in 2007, he had a batting average of 0.322 (2,416 hits in 7,500 at-bats) and 174 home runs and 986 RBI in 1,974 games until this year. This season, he recorded a batting average of 0.339 (187 hits in 551 at-bats) along with 5 home runs and 65 RBIs, making his first debut. Son Ah-seop, who was the batting king and the fourth (2012, 2013, 2017, 2023) king with the most hits, also showed off his decent batting ability with 2 hits in 5 at-bats in the game.
Now, Son Ah-seop and NC are aiming for revenge on SSG, who are one step ahead of them, in the battle for third place through the semi-playoffs (best of 5 matches) starting on the 22nd. It is difficult to predict the outcome of the game, but what is clear is that NC, whose players are united through the leadership of Son Ah-seop, is by no means an easy team.