DAEJEON — The Hanwha Eagles may have finished with a better regular-season record than the Samsung Lions, their postseason opponent, but Eagles outfielder Son Ah-seop believes the Lions are the best team in the league at the moment.
The Eagles and the Lions will open their second-round series in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason Saturday at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the central city of Daejeon. The Eagles earned a bye to this round after finishing second in the regular season at 83-57-4 (wins-losses-ties), while the Lions finished fourth at 74-68-2 and had to survive the wild card stage and the first round just to come this far.
However, Son insisted Saturday the Eagles will be the underdog in this series.
“This is just from my perspective, but I think they are the best team in the KBO now,” Son said. “I think they are such a tough team to play because they have a great balance between pitching and hitting. So I think this is going to be a fun but difficult series for us.”
Son has never been to the Korean Series in his 19-year career but is now three wins away from ending that drought. Kang Min-ho, Son’s ex-teammate now catching for the Lions, played in his first Korean Series in his 21st season in 2024.
The two close friends have had a long running joke on who would reach or win the Korean Series first.
“I will try to learn from him, because he already got his taste of the Korean Series last year,” Son said. “It’s the same with his team. The Lions played in the Korean Series last year. So regardless of where we finished in the standings this year, we will take on the mindset of a team taking on a challenge.”
Son, 37, admitted to battling some jitters Saturday morning and said he wished he had the same, laid-back attitude as some of his younger teammates, including the 24-year-old third baseman Roh Si-hwan.
“He’s been cracking jokes since the morning and asking me why I am getting nervous,” Son said. “If I had that kind of energy and mental fortitude, I would have been a better player.”
Later Saturday, Kang Min-ho told reporters he and Son will be pulling for each other throughout the postseason.
“We talked about how we’ll cheer for whoever reaches the Korean Series to win the championship ring,” Kang said with a smile. “Ah-seop has been in his share of big games. I am sure he will be fine.”
Kang said keeping Son off the base as the Eagles’ leadoff hitter will be a key to the Lions’ success.
“I think they have a good middle of the lineup and we have to make sure Ah-seop doesn’t get on base so that we could minimize damage,” the catcher added. “It will be either my second straight trip to the Korean Series or Ah-seop’s first. It’s going to be a fun series.”
