Before the Samsung-Doosan game of the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the afternoon of Aug. 8, Samsung’s Kang Min-ho and Doosan’s Yang Ji, veteran catchers of both teams, met on the field and exchanged jokes.

Kang Min-ho, born in 1985, is two years older than Yang, born in 1987. As veteran catchers, Kang Min-ho and Yang Yang-ji are also close friends on the national team.  On this day, Samsung’s Kang Min-ho was the starting catcher and Yang was the designated hitter.

In the bottom of the second inning, Kang Min-ho, wearing a catcher’s mask, slapped Yang Ji on the butt as he entered the batter’s box, and the two were seen exchanging glances.  In the bottom of the first inning, Kang Min-ho hit a leadoff home run with runners on second and third. Yang drew a walk in his first at-bat.

In Yang’s second at-bat, in the bottom of the fourth inning, he was hit in the side of the head by a 122-kilometer slider from Samsung starter Kim Dae-woo. It wasn’t a major injury, but he was in a lot of pain. Kang Min-ho stood up and patted Yang Ji on the shoulder, and Yang Ji leaned on Kang’s shoulder for a moment for reassurance – a sympathetic gesture from a fellow catcher.

Kang Min-ho slapped Yang’s hip as he headed to first base, and he was ready to play defense again. With the game on the line, he signaled to pitcher Kim Dae-woo for the next batter. The next batter, Kim Jae-hwan and Yang Seok-hwan, hit back-to-back singles to tie the game at 2-2.

With the score tied 7-7 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Park Kye-beom’s pitch hit the glove of third baseman Ryu Ji-hyeok and sailed out of the foul line, allowing the runner from second to round third base and come home. 바카라

Samsung hung its head in shame and Doosan celebrated with a victory high-five, as Ryu’s error was the first of the season and the 85th of his career.