Choi Hyung-woo (40-KIA Tigers) is closing in on his only goal in baseball. He is on the verge of breaking the KBO’s all-time RBI record.

Choi came to the plate with a runner on third base in the bottom of the seventh inning of the 2023 KBO League game against the NC Dinos at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on April 17 and hit a clean single to center field. The hit was the 1498th RBI of his career since his first professional hit in 2008. It tied Lee Seung-yeop (current Doosan Bears manager) for the top spot on the list.

He hadn’t had a hit in four consecutive games since the Doosan Bears on the 11th, but he came within one RBI of the record with a multi-homer game against the NC Dinos on the 16th, and then matched the ‘national hitter’ in the second game of the three-game series on the 17th.메이저사이트

Choi joined the Samsung Lions in 2002, but after an unsuccessful stint on the disabled list, he rebounded with the police baseball team and rejoined Samsung. He made his presence felt in 2008 when he was named the “Late Bloomer” Rookie of the Year, and later became the team’s No. 4 hitter and was recognized as a key player in the Samsung dynasty that won five consecutive regular-season championships (2011-2015).

Due to his late arrival in the first team, Choi was not greedy about his stats. The only thing he was greedy about was RBIs. But even this was premiered in the 2021 season when he struggled. His progress was slower than he thought, and it was time to call it a day.

For now, Choi is doing the best he can with what he has, and his biggest value is helping the younger players get as many postseason games as possible. Clearing his mind seems to have paid off. Choi is batting .311 with eight home runs in 57 games this season, and he’s still going strong at age 40, much like Lee Dae-ho, who retired last season.

With all of this in mind, Choi’s record-breaking season and becoming the first player in history to reach 1,500 RBIs will be significant. As a center fielder, he has always said, “RBI production is the most important thing.” In the record that he emphasized the most, he now has the most among all batters in the KBO.

Choi will start Game 3 of the NC on the 18th. After winning Game 1 13-11 on Saturday, KIA lost Game 2 7-10. A best-of-three series (two wins or more) is on the line. In this game, the record for most RBIs will be broken and the first KBO player to reach the 1,500-RBI plateau will be recognized.