Six years after Doosan coach Lee Seung-yup retired, the KBO’s all-time leading scorer has changed hands. Choi Jung (36-SSG), who has become a “living legend,” has set a new KBO record with 1,356 career runs.
Choi hit a single to left-center field in the third inning of the Daejeon Hanwha game on April 6 and came home from third base on Guillermo Heredia’s double down the left field line. He scored his 1356th career run. Lee moved into second place on the all-time list, surpassing Lee Seung-yeop’s 1,355 runs.
Lee scored two runs with a solo home run in his retirement game against the Daegu Nexen on Oct. 3, 2017, when he was still a Samsung player. He ended his career with 1355 runs scored in 15 seasons in the KBO. Six years later, Choi broke Lee Seung-yeop’s record. It took him 2166 days.
SSG head coach Kim Won-hyung shook Choi’s hand in front of the dugout and gave him a congratulatory bouquet. He then happily high-fived his teammates and shared the joy of the new record. The KBO will present Choi with a commemorative award in accordance with its recognition policy.
After the game, Choi said, “Every year I try to do better than the previous season, so I feel like I’ve achieved the record for most goals. The record of scoring goals is not something that I can achieve by myself. I had a great group of teammates,” he said, giving credit to his 19-year teammates.
As Choi said, scoring runs in baseball is not a record you can set alone. If you get on base and the next batter doesn’t bring you in, you’re left stranded. It’s a record that’s built on the backs of good hitters, but Choi also had a lot of his own runs.
The percentage of home runs that can score runs is very high. His 454 career home runs account for 33.5% of his 1356 runs scored. He also has 172 stolen bases. He was active on the basepaths, putting himself in scoring position consistently.토토사이트
Choi concluded, “I will do my best to score more goals in the future because more goals help the team win. I am very grateful to the fans for their support. I will try my best to play my best every game.”
Choi is a 19-year veteran who joined SK (now SSG) in 2005 as the first pick after graduating from Yusin High School. A two-time free agent, Choi is a one-club man who has won three home run titles and eight Golden Gloves. He is completing his career as the best third baseman in KBO history.
A consistent double-digit home run hitter for the first 18 consecutive years of the KBO’s existence, Choi’s stats are only getting better with age. With his record-setting home run, Choi reached 1,300 career pitches (973 strikeouts and 327 walks). He is second all-time after Yang Jun-hyuk, who has 1380 career hits (1278 strikeouts and 102 walks).
He is also close to becoming the all-time home run leader. He is 13 home runs shy of Lee Seung-yup’s career record of 467. It won’t be easy this year, but it is expected that Choi will be able to break the record by next season at the latest.