Jeong Choi, the man who caught the 468th home run ball, waits for ‘free Starbucks for one year’

On the 24th, SSG Choi Jeong (37) finally hit his historic 468th home run at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan. This is the most home runs by an individual in KBO (Korea Baseball Organization) League history. Prizes await the person who caught this historic 468th home run ball.

Previously, SSG offered a prize for the winner of the home run ball to commemorate Choi Jeong’s 468th home run. The SSG team said, “We plan to provide the same prize even if Choi Jeong hits a home run at the away stadium instead of Incheon SSG Landers Field.” The person who catches Choi Jeong’s home run ball at Sajik Stadium can also receive the same benefits.

If the person who catches the home run ball transfers it to the SSG club, a one-year free Starbucks beverage voucher will be provided. In addition, you will also receive two Live Zone season tickets for 2024-2025, a bat autographed by Choi Jeong and a large Loro ball signed by the players, two tickets to participate in the 2025 spring camp tour, an E-Marticon (E-Mart online gift certificate) worth 1.4 million won, and a 750,000 won accommodation voucher at the Chosun Hotel. .

The person who caught the home run ball was a male spectator in the left outfield of Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan that day. The SSG team said, “We first asked for the understanding of the audience, received the home run ball, and took commemorative photos. After the bottom of the 7th inning of the game, we will meet the audience again to confirm their intention to donate the home run ball to the club or keep it for themselves.” explained.

The person who catches the home run ball does not necessarily have to hand it over to the SSG team. There are also ways to keep it privately or put it up for auction. In 2016, Seung-yeop Lee’s historic 600th home run ball was auctioned instead of donated and sold for 150 million won, the highest amount at a Korean sports auction. If Choi Jeong-ui’s No. 468 home run ball is auctioned, it is likely to be sold for a considerable amount.

In 2003, Lee Seung-yeop’s 300th KBO home run ball was purchased by Ace Technology Chairman Koo Kwan-young for 120 million won from the person who caught the home run ball and donated it to the Samsung Lions. That year, the 56th home run ball that Seung-yeop Lee hit that season was caught by an employee of a Samsung partner company and donated to the team, and the Samsung Lions gifted him a solid gold baseball worth 56 won as a token of gratitude.

Recently, LA Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani’s home run ball became a hot topic in the United States. On the 22nd, Ohtani hit his 176th home run in his Major League career at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, USA. It was a historic home run that surpassed Hideki Matsui’s record of 175 home runs by a Japanese Major Leaguer.

The person who caught this home run ball was Jason Patino, an LA resident who came to Dodger Stadium for the first time that day. The Dodgers club offered him a condition that if he donated the home run ball, the home run ball would be displayed in a museum and exchanged for an autograph ball signed by Ohtani, but Mr. Patino refused and indicated that he would sell it to someone else. To put it up for auction. Full Count, a Japanese baseball media outlet, reported, “The value of Ohtani’s No. 176 home run ball is estimated to be approximately 15 million yen (approximately 134 million won).”