NC Park Seok-min (38) decided to retire at the end of this season. It marked the end of his 20-year playing career.
According to the NC club, Park Seok-min informed the club of his intention to retire in early October. The NC club, which is playing the postseason, was unable to discuss details, but decided to accept Park Seok-min’s intention to retire.
Park Seok-min was a key player in the Samsung dynasty in the 2010s, and moved to NC as a free agent in 2016, contributing to NC’s first Korean Series win. In July 2021, he was disciplined for a COVID-19 drinking party and was suspended from business for nearly a year, and he suffered repeated back injuries last year and this year.
His career first-team performance was 1,697 games, with a batting average of .208, 269 home runs, 1,041 RBI, 882 runs, an on-base percentage of .402, a slugging percentage of .491, and an OPS of .893.
Park Seok-min wore the Samsung uniform as a first-round pick in 2004. During his third year at Daegu High School, he was recognized for his batting talent and was ranked among the top three in the country. He hit .100 for two consecutive years in 2004 and 2005, and finished his military service early.
After being discharged from the military, he became the starting third baseman in 2008, hitting 24 home runs in 2009 and hitting average of .303 in 2010, playing an active part in the central batting lineup as a mid-to-long-distance hitter.
Samsung advanced to the Korean Series for six consecutive years from 2010 to 2015, and won the Korean Series for four consecutive years from 2011 to 2014. Park Seok-min was a key player in the Samsung dynasty, recording a batting average of .300 for four consecutive years from 2012 to 2015. In 2014 and 2015, he won the Golden Glove Award as a third baseman.
Ahead of the 2016 season, Park Seok-min signed a four-year free agent contract with NC worth up to 9.6 billion won. In his first year as a free agent, in 2016, he played with a batting average of .300, 70, 32 home runs, and 104 RBI, contributing to NC’s first advance to the Korean Series. He was a member of the all-time leading batting lineup called ‘Natai Park’ (Na Seong-beom, Thames, Lee Ho-jun, Park Seok-min).
Park Seok-min, who again qualified as a free agent ahead of the 2020 season, signed a second free agent contract with NC for 2+1 years and up to 3.4 billion won. In 2020, Park Seok-min once again recorded a batting average of .300 and played a leading role in NC’s first integrated championship since its founding.
He won the Korean Series five times at Samsung (2005, 2011-2014) and once at NC (2020), and received six championship rings.
Park Seok-min, who actively participated in social donation activities after signing a free agency contract and was loved by fans for his comedic character on the pitch, left the only blemish in 2021. 토토사이트
In July 2021, he was disciplined for violating new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) quarantine rules by holding a drinking party at a hotel in Seoul. Park Seok-min was unable to play on the field for over a year due to a 132-game suspension in addition to the KBO and the club’s own disciplinary action.
He returned to the first team in June 2022, but recorded a batting average of 1.499 in 16 games and left due to a back injury. Park Seok-min, whose second free agent contract period has ended, renewed his contract with an annual salary of 50 million won this season and attempted to restore his honor with the attitude of Baek Ui-jong.
He attempted to make a comeback with a strong spirit in spring training, but collapsed due to a back injury in mid-July, and his position was narrowed by younger players. He batted in 30 games this year with a batting average of . After completing his 20-year career as a player, Park Seok-min decided to retire.