SSG Landers infielder Choi Jeong-jeong will attempt to win his fourth home run title at the age of 36.
Choi went 2-for-3 with a home run (one home run), three RBIs, one run scored and one walk in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Lotte Giants in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Saturday, taking a 5-1 lead with runners on second and third. SSG snapped a two-game losing streak with a 12-1 victory over Lotte.
Choi, who also homered against KT in Incheon the day before (Nov. 15), homered for the second straight game to tie Park Dong-won 먹튀검증 (LG) for the league lead in home runs with 14 on the season. Choi, who has won the league’s home run title three times (2016, 2017, 2021), is seeking his fourth. He is also the KBO’s first double-digit home run record holder for 18 consecutive years, from 2006 to this year.
Before the game, SSG head coach Kim Won-hyung said of Choi, “He’s been really consistent. It’s great that he’s still providing firepower in the center of the team at his age. I don’t think I need to say much more about him,” he admired. After the game, he was also grateful for Jung’s home run, saying, “It made it easier for me to watch the game.”
After the game, Choi said, “Sometimes I don’t play well, sometimes other players play well and win, sometimes I play well and win, and the best thing is for the team to keep winning and be at the top like now. I just want to keep playing winning matches. It’s early in the season, so I’m not worried about the standings, but I’m trying to keep this hitting feeling going until the end of the season.”
On the competition for the home run title with Park Dong-won, he said, “I don’t really care about the competition. He’s been hitting a lot better this year, and he’s got a lot of power, so we have a lot more synergy in terms of long ball production. I’m just a home run competitor, and I never think about that. I’m just taking it one game at a time,” he shrugged.
“Honestly, I was worried about hitting double-digit home runs, but that was my only goal, to hit double-digit home runs, so now that I’ve done that, I’m happy with that and I’m comfortable hitting,” he said, emphasizing that he never aspires to be a home run king.
With 443 career home runs, Choi needs 24 more to tie current Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop (467) as the KBO’s all-time home run leader, and 25 to surpass him 메이저사이트 추천. Choi ranks fourth all-time with 1409 career RBIs. The all-time leader in RBIs is Lee (1498). Choi is closing in on Choi Hyung-woo (1,497) for the most RBIs by an active player.
Choi said, “I don’t really care about my career record. I’ve always had the goal of doing better than the previous season every season, and I’ll keep that mindset until I retire. People around me talk about home run and RBI records, but even if I break Lee Seung-yup’s home run record, I’ll just think of it as second place.”