"It is an honor to have my name in history"…Na Seong-beom 2 home runs, KIA 13-1 in Semi-Playoff, 3 straight wins

KIA beat LG 13-1 to finish the Semi-Playoff with three straight wins. Na Seong-beom, who hit two home runs, said his eighth-inning final at-bat, where he took four balls, was the most disappointing.

Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.

Oct. 20, 2026, Jamsil Stadium. Batting in the top of the 2nd inning, KIA captain Na Seong-beom (37) sent the game's first run over the outfield wall. The game that started with that one swing ended in a KIA 13-1 rout, and the Semi-Playoff closed with a 3-0 sweep. Yet the player who hit two home runs named something other than the home runs as what he regretted most after the game.

Na Seong-beom's 2 home runs: 2nd-inning opener, 6th-inning add-on

News1 (carried by Financial News) reports and Sports Chosun reports, lined up in time order, make the sequence clear. Na Seong-beom broke the scoreless tie with a solo home run in the top of the 2nd, then hit another solo home run in the top of the 6th. In a later at-bat he reached base on a walk. His final line was 4 at-bats, 2 hits, 2 home runs with 2 RBIs, 2 runs scored, and 1 walk. Because it has not yet been checked against the KBO individual game batting record, the figures above are based on multiple reports.

KIA Semi-Playoff 3-game scores

Game	Score (KIA-LG)	Run margin
Game 1	5-1	4 runs
Game 2	6-3	3 runs
Game 3	13-1	12 runs
Total	24-5	19 runs

Na Seong-beom's original remark: 'four balls,' not 'strikeout'

On the night of the game, the 20th, Na Seong-beom told News1 in an interview, "It is an honor to have my name in history." A day later, Sports Chosun reported that his post-game interview included a slightly different remark: "I tried to hit it properly, but all four were balls." On the day he hit multiple home runs, what he regretted was never getting to take a real swing in his final at-bat.

The problem is the headline of the same article. The Sports Chosun headline read 'Regret over strikeout in last at-bat,' but the remark quoted in the body was four balls, that is, a walk. Daily Sports Korea's game review also reported a late walk, so the headline's 'strikeout' is hard to see as a remark Na Seong-beom actually made.

Na Seong-beom's salary 800 million won, maximum contract 15 billion won

Na Seong-beom was born on October 3, 1989, making him 37 this year. A left-handed hitting and throwing outfielder, he debuted with NC Dinos in 2013 and joined KIA on a free-agent contract in December 2021. Seasons with 30 or more home runs are 2014 (30), 2020 (34), and 2021 (33), and Sports Kyunghyang reported from the field on Sept. 29, 2026 that he reached his 30th home run of the season. In May 2024, he became the 25th player in history to surpass 1000 career RBIs. On July 17 this year against SSG, he hit his 300th career home run, the 16th in KBO history, in his 14th season.

KIA announced on Dec. 23, 2021 that it signed Na Seong-beom to a maximum six-year contract worth 15 billion won (Donga Ilbo) The total combines a 6 billion won signing bonus, 6 billion won in total salary, and up to 3 billion won in options, so not all 15 billion won is guaranteed. His announced salary for the 2026 season is 800 million won (per KBO player profile, as of Oct. 22, 2026). At the KBO's March 18 announcement, he was tied for first in salary among KIA domestic players with Yang Hyeon-jong. By Scorebase's tally, he is tied for 17th among domestic players in the league, 3.4 billion won behind No. 1 Yang Eui-ji (4.2 billion won).

2026 season KBO domestic player announced salaries (excerpt)

Rank	Player	Team	Salary
1	Yang Eui-ji	Doosan	4.2 billion won
2	Ko Young-pyo	KT	2.6 billion won
3	Choi Jeong	SSG	2.2 billion won
Tied 4	Ryu Hyun-jin	Hanwha	2.1 billion won
Tied 4	Park Se-woong	Lotte	2.1 billion won
13	Koo Chang-mo	NC	900 million won
Tied 17	Na Seong-beom	KIA	800 million won
Tied 17	Yang Hyeon-jong	KIA	800 million won

Salary figures are based on the KBO announcement (March 18, 2026) and player profiles; the 13th and 17th rankings are Scorebase tallies. This is an excerpt, not the full ranking, and since these are announced salaries, signing bonuses, options, and endorsement income are not included.

KIA scored 24 runs and allowed only 5 across the three Semi-Playoff games, a 6.3-run margin per game (19 runs ÷ 3 games). In the final game, according to Sports Kyunghyang, Na Seong-beom tied the Semi-Playoff single-game record for home runs with 2. The captain, who dwelled more on one walk than on his home runs, said: "Honestly, my last at-bat in the 8th inning is the one I regret most."

Related official sites

KBO official game schedule and results — check Semi-Playoff results and upcoming schedule
KBO official player record for Na Seong-beom — official profile including salary and career stats
KIA Tigers official website — check official team news

Representative image · Archive photo · Not a photo from the current game in this article · Photo=Wikimedia Commons (User Andrew on Flickr), CC BY 2.0