Kang Jung-ho, forced to retire under the influence of alcohol, will come to pay attention to his voice...There is no other player to go to ML in Korea
Feb 12, 2025
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Something unimaginable is happening three years ago. Kang Jung-ho (38), who caused a stir by driving under the influence of alcohol three times and was forced to retire after KBO blocked him from returning to the KBO League, is actively speaking out and affecting baseball fans.
Kang Jung-ho talked with baseball commentator Lee Taek-geun on his YouTube channel on the 10th under the theme of 'Is there a hitter who will enter the Major League in the KBO League at the moment?' Currently, only outfielder Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants), infielder Kim Ha-sung (Tampa Bay Rays), and Kim Hye-sung (LA Dodgers) are Korean batters from the KBO League. Kim Hye-sung signed a contract ahead of this season and achieved her dream of becoming a major leaguer for the last time.
Last year's MVP Kim Do-young (KIA Tigers) made an exception. Kim Do-young is a 22-year-old young player, but regardless of his age, he deserves to be called the KBO League's leading hitter. In 141 games last season, he dominated the league with a batting average of 0.347 (189 hits in 544 at-bats), 38 homers, 40 steals, 109 RBIs, and 1.067 OPS. In November last year, he played in the '2024 WBSC Premier 12' and hit .412 with three home runs, 10 RBIs and an OPS of 1.503 in five games, making him a player of the world's attention. There is still a long way to go before Kim Do-young can qualify for posting, but there is no disagreement that Major League officials are paying the most attention to the KBO League right now.
Kang Jung-ho asserted that except for Kim Do-young, there are no batters who will show interest in the Major League.
Kang Jung-ho said, `The prerequisite changes a lot depending on how you eat the KBO league and then adapt. (Kim Ha-sung) had potential. (Kim)Ha-sung was a shortstop, so he was able to grow to that extent. Would other players have received KBO Golden Gloves if they hadn't gone to the U.S. He was unrivaled in that position, and he was a shortstop, so there was a possibilityHe explained, "Now, I don't see such an unrivaled player except Kim Do-young."
Baseball fans began to listen to Kang Jung-ho's voice after NC Dinos Son Ah-seop won the batting title in 2023. Son Ah-seop only hit 0.277 (152 hits in 548 at-bats) in 2022, the first year he moved to NC, and visited Kang Jung-ho after cracking his pride as Korea's best school hitter. Kang was taking a batting lesson in Los Angeles, the U.S. Son Ah-seop topped the league with a batting average of 0.339 (187 hits in 551 at-bats) in 2023, which was corrected by Kang Jung-ho, and won his first career title in 17 years since his professional debut.
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A baseball official said, `It's natural to analyze the batting video and make a difference, but I heard Kang Jung-ho has a different insight. I heard that it really points out the subtle differences.," he said, explaining the reason for his success.
Kang Jung-ho was evaluated as having very excellent batting talent when he was a player. After graduating from Gwangju Jeil High School, he was nominated by Hyundai Unicorns in the second round of the rookie draft in 2006 and started his professional career, and finished his KBO career with Nexen Heroes (currently Kiwoom). After 902 games, batting average of 0.298 (916 hits in 3070 at-bats), 139 home runs and 545 RBIs in nine KBO seasons and being recognized as the league's best shortstop, he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015 and moved to the U.S. In Pittsburgh, he played for four seasons until 2019, producing a career batting average of 0.254 (233 hits in 917 at-bats), 46 homers and 144 RBIs.
The spectacular achievements were shattered by alcohol. Kang Jung-ho was sentenced to two years of probation in August for causing a drunk driving hit-and-run accident in December 2016. During the trial, it was shocking to find out that he was driving under the influence of alcohol in 2009 and 2011 when he was a member of Nexen. Kang Jung-ho dreamed of returning by signing a contract with Kiwoom with a minimum annual salary of 30 million won in 2022, saying, "Professional baseball is a popular sport, but there are no spectators as it causes incidents and accidents." I think the social message is also important"It fell through when it came out hard.
Kang Jung-ho established himself quickly enough to influence KBO league hitters by leaving behind the drunk driving past and pioneering his second life as a batting leader. On the 12th (Korea time), he visited the KIA Tigers spring camp training site in Irvine, California, USA, drawing attention. It seems that he continues to expand his territory as a leader of Jaeya.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
