It’s been four years since he’s been seen on the field, but his unorthodox bare-handed catch caught the attention of Major League Baseball (ML) broadcasters. Kang Jeong-ho (36), who now visits the stadium as a ‘spectator’, caught a foul ball and attracted attention in the US.토토사이트
On the 25th (Korean time), American media outlet The Athletic Major League posted on its official SNS, “Former Pittsburgh Pirates player Kang Jeong-ho visited the Pittsburgh-San Diego game as a spectator, and he caught a foul ball with one hand,” highlighting Kang’s performance.
On this day, Kang visited the 2023 Major League Baseball regular season game between San Diego and Pittsburgh at Petco Park in San Diego, California, USA. He was there to see KBO junior Kim Ha-seong, 28, and former Pittsburgh teammate Andrew McCutchen. Kang played with Kim on the Nexen Heroes (now the Kiwoom Heroes) in 2014, and the two broke into the major leagues in 2015 and spent four seasons in Pittsburgh.
While watching the game from the stands after reuniting with his former teammates, Kang snatched a foul ball in his direction with his left hand. The unusual bare-handed catch prompted the American commentator to ask, “Doesn’t this fan look like a baseball player?” before introducing him as “Jung Ho Kang, who played for Pittsburgh”.
Kang began his professional career with the Hyundai Unicorns of the KBO in 2006 and flourished with the Nexen. In 2015, he reached the major leagues with Pittsburgh, where he hit 46 home runs in four seasons, including 21 in 2016, making him the most successful Korean major leaguer in the KBO.
But a drink-driving arrest in South Korea in the winter of 2016 ended his glittering future. His return to Pittsburgh was hampered, and his big league career ended in 2019. He made two attempts to return to the KBO in 2020 and 2022, but both fell through due to strong public backlash, and he eventually retired and is now reportedly running a baseball lesson centre in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, his junior, Kim Ha-seong, recorded the first single-game multi-homer game of his Major League Baseball career, becoming not only the first Korean big leaguer but also the first Asian infielder to reach 20 home runs and 20 doubles.
Kim Ha-seong celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh on Sunday (25 July). /AFPBBNews=News1