Son A-seop is a native of Busan who graduated from Yangjeong Elementary School, Gaeseong Middle School and Busan High School. He was also a player who inherited the lineage of Lotte legends from Busan High School such as Yang Sang-moon, Park Dong-hee, Ma Hae-young, Yeom Jong-seok, Son Min-han and Joo Hyung-kwang.
Son A-seop has left Busan. He has made a comeback after a year of hard work. Last year, Son played in 140 games as a designated hitter, posting a batting average of 339, five homers and 65 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.836. He became the first batter to win the most hits (187) in his career.
Son A-seop expressed his affection for his hometown Busan when he appeared on Lee Dae-ho’s YouTube channel. “It’s my hometown. I’ve never left Busan for 35 years. I went to a kindergarten in Busan, and my parents are still with me.”
Son first declared independence when he moved to NC Dinos. He wanted to renew his commitment. He moved after buying a house in Changwon. When Lee Dae-ho jokingly said, “I abandoned my hometown,” Son replied, “I moved. I was abandoned.”
There could be many reasons. As Son directly expressed, it was the difference in amount. Son said, “There is no need to lie. The difference in amount was big. It is not all about the annual salary, but it is the value (indicator) of a player in professional baseball.”
The trust between Son and the club had also partially collapsed. Son said he had confidence that he could do better, while Lotte did not. Son said, “I was going to rebuild at the time. I had anxiety that I would lose my place.” 경마
“My goal is to play all the games every year. However, the number of games has decreased, and there seems to be a platoon (customized batting based on the opponent team’s pitcher). The batting average against left-handed pitchers was good, but some games were missed. I thought about where I could play more happily. I wanted to play more games. A player shines when he is on the ground.”
Lee Dae-ho also had a period of uncertainty in his final years of Lotte. In 2021, he played in 114 games due to a flurry of side injuries. In the final season, he played in 143 games again, because he made a perfect comeback. With a batting average of 331, 23 home runs, 101 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.881, he showed off as good as his prime, and his retirement tour overlapped.
“The first thing for a (professional baseball) player is whether he can trust me and continue playing in games. At the time, Lotte seemed to want to raise and change its players. Aseob should have gone,” Lee said.
Son A-seop is considered one of the players who left Lotte would have been absent permanently if he had remained with Kang Min-ho. He is still loved by many players in Busan. Not only his fans but also many Lotte players still believe and follow him as role models. He is one of the KBO League legends who dream of 3,000 hits in his career.
“I’m not taking sides. I’m the one who worked the hardest and really prepared to play in all 144 games,” Lee said. “If I had thought that I would not be able to play at the time of my contract, what Aseob was thinking would have been right.”