SSG Choi Jeong, dramatic 467th home run… Tied for first place in KBO career home runs with Lee Seung-yeop

A dramatic tying solo shot after two outs in the bottom of the ninth… Top home run leader of the season

‘Hard-working genius’ Choi Jeong (37, SSG Landers) has risen to a tie for first place in the KBO League’s career home runs.

Jeong-eun Choi played a home game against the KIA Tigers in a professional baseball game held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 16th. In the bottom of the 9th inning, down 3-4, with no runners on base and 2 outs, Jeong-eun Jeong finished off the opponent. Hae-young Jeong’s 5th pitch (ball count 1 ball – 3 strikes) hit a fastball of 147 km per hour. He received it and drew a tying solo arch that went over the left-center wall. The distance measured by the recorder was 125m.

This is the 9th home run this season and the 467th home run in Choi Jeong’s career, who is in his 20th year as a professional.

With this home run, Choi Jeong-eun tied the KBO career home run record held by current Doosan Bears coach Seung-yeop Lee.

On June 20, 2013, Doosan Manager Seung-Yeop Lee hit his 352nd home run in the KBO League wearing a Samsung Lions uniform and rose to the top spot in his career, and his name has been at the top of this category for over 10 years.

Choi Jeong-eun, who ranks first in the KBO’s career home runs with coach Seung-yeop Lee, will set a new record in this category if he adds one more home run.

The historic ‘467th’ home run came at a very dramatic moment.

Choi Jeong scored a solo shot to tie the game with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, when defeat was in sight, and brought the game back to square one.

SSG, who made a comeback with Choi Jeong’s home run, turned the game around with Hanyu Island’s two-run shot and won 6-4.

Choi Jeong-eun hit his first home run in the first team against the Incheon Hyundai Unicorns on May 21, 2005, when he joined the pro league.

As a rookie, he only hit one home run, but after hitting double-digit home runs (12) for the first time in his second year in 2006, he continued to show a cool streak by hitting double-digit home runs for 18 consecutive seasons until last year.

100 home runs against the Samsung Lions in Incheon on September 30, 2011 (57th in history), 200 home runs against the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on June 1, 2016 (23rd in history), and 300 home runs against Hanwha in Incheon on July 8, 2018. Choi Jeong-eun, who became the 11th player in history, hit his 400th home run in the Gwangju KIA game on October 19, 2021, becoming the second player to hit his 400th home run following manager Lee Seung-yeop, approaching the KBO record for the most home runs in his career.

If the 468th home run is hit, Choi Jeong becomes the first KBO record-holder.

With a height of 180 cm and a weight of 90 kg, Choi Jeong-eun does not have the ‘home run hitter type’ type body, but Choi Jeong-eun has established himself as a representative home run hitter in Korean baseball with a ‘beautiful swing’ that even the ‘national hitter’ manager Lee Seung-yeop recognizes.

He won the home run title three times in 2016 (40 home runs), 2017 (46 home runs), and 2021 (35 home runs).

Last year, he ranked second (29 home runs) after Noh Si-hwan (Hanwha Eagles), who hit 31 home runs, and this year he was the first to hit his 9th home run of the season.

Choi Jeong-eun, who is also good at driving hard, hit four home runs in the Incheon NC game on April 8, 2017.

Even in his 20th year as a professional, Choi Jeong is showing off his status as the ‘best active hitter’.

As of the 16th, Choi Jeong-eun ranks first in home runs (9) and tied for first in RBIs (21) this season.

He knows how to put a ‘narrative’ into a home run.

Choi Jeong’s home run sometimes leads to a team victory.

SSG recorded a winning percentage of 0.675 (278 wins, 134 losses, 10 draws) in 422 games in which Choi Jeong hit a home run, including during his SK days.

This is the 30th time Choi Jeong hit a home run in the 9th inning. This home run tied the game and became the starting point for the comeback victory.

After the game, Choi Jeong said, “I’m happy that my home run tied the score and the team won,” and was more pleased with the team’s victory than being ranked first in KBO’s career home runs.

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