Lions catcher Kang Min-ho breaks Park Yong-taik's record for most KBO games at 2,238

Baseball

Published: 29 Mar. 2024, 16:07 Updated: 29 Mar. 2024, 16:13

Lions catcher Kang Min-ho breaks Park Yong-taik's record for most KBO games at 2,238

Samsung Lions' Kang Min-ho hits a single at the top of the second inning during a game against the LG Twins on Thursday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul. [YONHAP]

Samsung Lions catcher Kang Min-ho now holds the record for most appearances in the KBO, playing in his 2,238th game against the LG Twins at Jamsil Stadium in southern Seoul on Thursday as the 2024 KBO season kicked off this week.

Kang, 38, surpassed the previous record of 2,237 appearances held by storied former LG Twins hitter Park Yong-taik, who retired from professional baseball in 2020.

It was a true passing of the baton, as Park, 44, spent the entirety of his 19-year KBO career at Jamsil with the Twins, from his rookie debut in 2002 to his final game in the pandemic-battered 2020 season.

LG Twins bid farewell to the KBO's most prolific hitter

But Park’s legacy still lives on in the KBO four years after his retirement as the all-time career hit leader with 2,504 hits across nearly two decades. He batted an average of .308 and picked up 1,192 RBIs.

Park was present at Thursday’s game and handed Kang a flower bouquet.

Former KBO hitter and sports commentator Park Yong-taik congratulates Samsung Lions' Kang Min-ho for breaking his record for the most games played in the KBO at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Kang started his KBO career a couple years after Park, marking his rookie debut with the Lotte Giants. He spent 14 years with the Busan club before signing with the Lions, joining them in Daegu in 2018, and has a .276 career batting average with 1,994 hits and 1,167 RBIs.

And Kang has a solid number of games ahead. The catcher signed a four-year, $3 million deal to stay on with the Lions in December 2021. He has yet to play in a Korean Series.

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The Lions otherwise suffered a resounding defeat in Thursday’s game, losing 18-1 to the 2023 Korean Series champions. They sit in the middle of the 10-team table as of this week.

They next face the SSG Landers at Daegu Samsung Lions Park Friday evening.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]