At this time last year, there were concerns about Choi Hyung-woo (40-KIA Tigers).
His bat wasn’t heating up. He was playing “snow baseball,” a form of baseball that allows him to get on base, but it wasn’t a performance worthy of the name Choi Hyung-woo, who was once one of the top hitters in the KBO. After suffering from an eye condition in the 2021 season, he struggled again and was labeled as an “aging curve” player.스포츠토토
This year, it’s a completely different story. His early-season surge was dismissed as a “flash in the pan,” but he’s been on a roll for more than two months now. He’s been hitting the ball out of the park, and he’s been playing the role of “Kia’s fixer,” as the fans like to say. With a season batting average of 3.1-1 (205 at-bats, 64 hits), he is firmly in the top 10 in the KBO. His OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.909 ranks third overall. His WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 2.67 (per Sports2eye) ranks sixth overall. No one thinks of the “aging curve” after Choi’s name anymore.
The 2023 KBO League game between the KIA Tigers and NC Dinos was held at Gwangju KIA Champions Field on July 17. KIA’s Choi Hyung-woo hits an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning. With this, Choi Hyung-woo set the record for the most RBIs in his career with ‘1498’ RBIs. Gwangju=Choi Moon-young 기자deer@sportschosun.com /2023.06.17/
Choi Hyung-woo has become a legend. On June 17 against the NC Dinos at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, he tied Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop’s record for the most RBIs in a KBO game (1498) with a single up the middle in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was a day to celebrate, but it was also a day that marked the birth of another legend in Korean baseball history.
History was made with tears and sweat. After joining the Samsung Lions in the sixth round of the 2002 rookie draft, Choi appeared in six games for the first team in four years before being released. After completing his military service with the National Police Agency, he rejoined his hometown team, Samsung, where he exploded with potential and became part of a dynasty. After surpassing 500 RBIs in 2013, Choi joined KIA in 2017 on a four-year, 10 billion won free agent contract and revolutionized the team’s quest for V11 by surpassing 1,000 RBIs that year. He has won most of the individual titles for hitters, including six Golden Gloves (2011, 2013-2014, 2016-2017, 2020), two batting titles (2016, 2020), one home run title (2011), and two RBI titles (2011, 2016).
The 2023 KBO League game between the KIA Tigers and NC Dinos was held at Gwangju KIA Champions Field on July 17. KIA Choi Hyung-woo
Gwangju=Choi Moon-young 기자deer@sportschosun.com /2023.06.17/
Choi Hyung-woo needs one more RBI to become the KBO’s all-time RBI leader. With one more RBI, he’ll reach a milestone no one has ever reached before: 1,500 career RBIs. His path is now one of history and legend in Korean baseball.