Jeong Choi, personal number 468 ‘bang’… Beyond Lee Seung-yeop, KBO League ‘new history’
SSG offers a variety of ‘big events’ to fans who visit Sajik Stadium
Choo Shin-soo, 2,000th hit in Korea-US total… Hanwha Ryu Hyun-jin fails to reach 100 wins
As SSG Choi Jeong (37) entered the batter’s box, people began to move to the left side of Sajik Stadium’s outfield. The batted ball crossed the fence in a long parabola. Cheers poured in from both home and away fans.
Choi Jeong, who was a ‘boy’, has now become the ‘home run king’. On the 24th, when Choi Jeong-eun was down 4-7 against Sajik Lotte with two outs in the 5th inning, he hit Lotte starter Lee In-bok’s first pitch slider with a distance of 127 km and went over the left field fence. It was Choi Jeong’s 468th home run in his career. This is a new record, surpassing Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop’s KBO League total of 467 home runs.
Choi Jeong-eun, who graduated from Yushin High School and entered the professional world as a first-round pick for SK (now SSG) in 2005, hit his first home run against Hyundai on May 21, 2005, the first year of his debut. Choi Jeong, who achieved double-digit home runs in the second season of his professional debut with 12 home runs the following year, rose to the top with his consistent performance, filling double-digit home runs for 19 consecutive years.
Choi Jeong-eun, who hit home runs in two consecutive games against Lotte on the 23rd and 24th, the opening two games of the season, said as the achievement of the record became visible, “I want to achieve it quickly.” He couldn’t even prevent injuries. In the game against KIA on the 17th, he was hit on the side by a ball thrown by Will Crowe, and a microfracture was suspected at his first examination, but fortunately it turned out to be a bruise. Choi Jeong does not avoid the ball even if it comes towards him. The 330 balls Choi Jeong hit after his debut is the record for the most in Korea, the United States, and Japan.
No matter how many times he gets hit, he doesn’t get hurt and hits a home run again. Choi Jeong, who returned from a short break against Sajik Lotte on the 23rd, showed good batting ability by hitting a double in his first at-bat, but due to rain, it was a no game, and he ended up hitting the most home runs in the game against Lotte on the 24th.
Of the 468 home runs Choi Jeong hit, 293 went over the left field fence. Fans who visited Sajik Stadium also gathered behind Choi Jeong’s left wall every time it was his turn to bat. SSG offered significant prizes for Choi Jeong’s new record home run ball, including a season ticket, an autographed bat, an E-Mart online gift certificate worth 1.4 million won, a free Starbucks beverage voucher for one year, and a stay at the Chosun Hotel.
Choi Jeong-eun hit 168 home runs after two outs. On this day, he also hit a home run with two outs. Choi Jeong, who loved the first pitch the most, set a record this time with her 130th home run, which she hit targeting the first pitch. It was the 26th home run at Sajik Stadium.
Teammate Choo Shin-soo also set a record of 2,000 hits in his career between Korea and the United States with his second hit in his second at-bat that day.
SSG’s batting line, revived by Choi Jeong’s home run, succeeded in coming back in the 7th inning and won 12-7 over Lotte.
Meanwhile, Hanwha Ryu Hyun-jin, who was aiming for his 100th win in the KBO League, started against Suwon KT and received no defensive help, allowing 7 hits and 7 runs (5 earned) in 5 innings, suffering his 3rd loss (1 win) of the season. Hanwha lost 1-7 to KT. Leading KIA also defeated Kiwoom 6-4 and firmly maintained its first place. KIA closer Jeong Hae-young won a save on this day, surpassing Lim Chang-yong’s previous record and becoming the youngest player ever (22 years, 8 months, 1 day) to make 100 saves. Samsung beat LG 6-0 in Daegu and won four games in a row. NC beat Doosan 3-1 in Jamsil.
