Choi Jeong-i of SSG Landers added another home run history in the KBO League. There are many home run records to be left behind.
Choi Jeong-eun is the main character of the NC Dinos match held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 10th. In the 4th inning, where the score was 1-1, he hit a solo home run by pulling the outside changeup of NC left-handed starter Choi Seong-young. Season 21 home run. With this, Choi Jung-eun became the second player in history to hit 450 homers after Lee Seung-yeop (currently Doosan Bears manager). It is the first in the KBO league as a right-handed hitter.
Lee Seung-yeop, who played in Japanese professional baseball for 8 years from 2004 to 2011, wore a Samsung Lions uniform and hit the KBO League 450 home run in 1811 games at the age of 40 years, 9 months and 3 days in a game against Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on May 21, 2017. .
‘Boy Merchant’ Choi Jeong-eun achieved this record in his 2124th match. At the age of 36 years, 5 months and 12 days, about 4 years and 4 months earlier than ‘national hitter’ Lee Seung-yeop, he hit 450 homers. Even though the number of matches is more, it is the youngest record.
It is only a matter of time before Choi Jeong surpasses Lee Seung-yeop’s KBO league record for the most home runs (467). It seems likely to be achieved in the second half of this season at the earliest or during the next season at the latest. 꽁머니
Choi Jeong-eun is adding home run-related records one by one. On June 1, against Samsung, he recorded a double-digit home run record for the first time in the KBO League for 18 consecutive seasons. In the game against Samsung on the 27th of last month, he recorded 20 homers for 8 consecutive seasons, rising to a tie for second place in this category. The best record in this category is Park Byung-ho (KT Wiz) for 9 consecutive years, but he only hit 9 home runs this season.
The reason Choi Jeong was able to collect home run records one by one was thanks to the power of being called a ‘boy trader’ from the beginning of his joining. Here, his technical development and his persistence without major injuries also acted as his driving force. Choi Jeong-eun first filled the required at-bats in 2007, a three-year gap between his joining. Since then, until last year, he filled 13 of the 16 season at bats. For the past 10 years (2013-22), he was third in the most appearances (1198 games) and the number of at-bats (5057 at bats).
Attention is focusing on how many more homers Choi Jeong will add in the future. Even in his mid-30s, he still has the strength to compete for the home run king. In the US Major League (MLB), Barry Bonds has 762 home runs, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Sadaharu Oh has 868 home runs. Manager Lee Seung-yeop cheered on his juniors, saying, “I hope Choi Jeong will usher in the era of 500 home runs.”
For the time being, there is no opponent who can threaten Choi’s home run record. Among active players, Park Byeong-ho, who is one year older than Choi Jeong, has the most with 371 home runs. Among players in their 20s, no home run hitter has reached 100 home runs. Roh Si-hwan, a 5-year veteran of the Hanwha Eagles, also leads the team in home runs by hitting three home runs against the KT Wiz on the 9th, with a total of 63 home runs.
Choi Jeong-eun said, “I am proud of being the first right-handed hitter to hit 450 home runs.” SSG coach Kim Won-hyung congratulated him, saying, “Choi Jeong is showing that he is the best right-handed hitter in Korea. Despite his age, he continues to perform well. There are only a few players who have shown such an image. He is building a great record.”