KIA fan who caught Choi Jeong-ui’s ‘No. 468’ home run ball in Busan… “It feels like a dream”

The lucky person who caught the most home runs in the KBO League, launched by Choi Jeong (37, SSG Landers), was ‘KIA Tigers fan’ Kang Seong-gu (38).

While watching the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League SSG-Lotte Giants game held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 24th, Kang caught Choi Jeong’s home run ball that flew into the left outfield seats with his glove in the top of the 5th inning.

This home run rewrites the history of the KBO League. Choi Jeong-eun, who hit her 468th home run, surpassed Doosan Bears coach Lee Seung-yeop, the ‘national hitter’ who hit 467 home runs during her career, and took sole first place in the KBO League’s career home run category.

This historic ball returned to Choi Jeong’s hands when Kang willingly donated it to the SSG club.

Mr. Kang, an office worker living in Seoul, is currently working in Busan for a company project. An avid fan of KIA, he visited the stadium that day because a senior at his company asked him to find out the schedule for Lotte’s home game.

Mr. Kang laughed, saying, “I didn’t have a particularly good dream. I picked up a few tissues like Shohei Otani (who picks up trash to collect other people’s luck) and I think good energy came to me.”

He continued, “I confirmed that Choi Jeong was challenging the record for the most home runs. So, I analyzed (the direction of Choi Jeong’s home runs) and purchased tickets for seats under the outfield ‘Rocket Battery Zone,’ and the direction of the home run was exactly right.” “I thought I couldn’t catch it, but when I saw that I caught it with my glove, it felt like I was dreaming, and I benefited from that as I play baseball,” he added.

When Mr. Kang donated the home run ball, he received a gift worth 15 million won. The SSG club gave Kang, who caught the historic ball, two 2024/2025 Live Zone season tickets, a bat autographed by Jeong Choi and a large logo ball signed by the team, two tickets to participate in the 2025 Spring Camp Tour, an E-Mart online gift certificate (KRW 1.4 million), It provides a one-year free Starbucks beverage voucher, a Chosun Hotel accommodation voucher, and an SSG.com gift certificate (KRW 500,000).

He said, “I willingly donated a home run ball after seeing a one-year free ticket to Starbucks. My younger brother is a SSG fan, so I’m thinking of giving him gifts related to the SSG team, such as season tickets.”

Lastly, Mr. Kang said, “I was heartbroken and sorry (Choi Jeong was unable to play after being hit by a ball on his side in the game against KIA on the 17th),” and added, “Still, I hope KIA wins this season, not SSG.” “He said.

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