SSG Choi Jeong "I'm Greedy for 500 Home Runs"... It is Possible to Challenge the Immortal 600 Home Runs

468th home run against Lotte in Busan on the 24th... Overtakes coach Seung-Yeop Lee to become No. 1 in KBO home runs

Choi Jeong (37, SSG Landers) said, “Until last year, I didn’t know how much difference there was between coach Lee Seung-yeop’s record and my home run record.

If the article hadn’t come out, I wouldn’t have known for a longer time.”

Choi Jeong-eun, who had been silently moving forward, heated up the beginning of the 2024 season of the Korean Professional Baseball KBO League with a 'home run' and drew the 468th arch in the visiting game against the Lotte Giants held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 24th.

It was a new KBO League career home run record, surpassing Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop's record (467), which was once called an 'immortal record'. 파워볼사이트 추천

On June 20, 2013, when he was playing for the Samsung Lions, Coach Seung-yeop Lee hit his 352nd home run in the KBO League and rose to the top spot in total home runs.

After holding the title for 10 years and 10 months, he has now lost the 'sole first place' spot to Choi Jeong.

Choi Jeong-do, who confessed, "I want to quickly surpass Coach Lee Seung-yeop's record and play baseball quietly," said after surpassing Coach Lee Seung-yeop's record, "I think I can achieve 500 home runs in my personal career.

“I’m greedy,” he said, suggesting a new goal.

Although it attracts less attention than home runs, Choi Jeong, who shows off top-level skills even in his 20th year as a professional, is approaching a ‘new record’ in various cumulative records.

He is already in first place in the scoring category.

Choi Jeong scored his 1,356th point against the Daejeon Hanwha Eagles on September 6 last year, surpassing coach Lee Seung-yeop's record (1,355 points).

By the 24th, the score increased to 1,386, widening the gap with second place.

Coach Lee Seung-yeop still ranks second in career scoring, and among active players, Son Ah-seop (NC Dinos) has the second highest score with 1,330, after Choi Jeong.

He is currently ranked 4th with 2,185 game appearances, but the only active player who has played in more games than Choi Jeong is Kang Min-ho (Samsung Lions, 2,260 games).

If Choi Jeong-eun finishes this season without any major injuries like before, he can move up to second place in this category, surpassing retired Jeong Sung-hoon (2,223 games) and Park Yong-taek (2,237 games).

Choi Jeong-eun is approaching the 1,500 RBI mark for the second time in KBO history.

Choi Jeong-eun, who increased her personal RBI to 1,476 with a home run against Lotte on the 24th, is 22 closer to manager Lee Seung-yeop's record (1,498), which ranks second in this category.

If he adds 24 RBIs, he will become the second player to reach 1,500 RBIs, following Choi Hyung-woo (KIA Tigers), who ranks first in total RBIs (1,562).

It is highly likely that Choi Jeong, born in February 1987, will continue his active career longer than Choi Hyeong-woo, born in December 1984.

Choi Jeong-eun also holds a ‘world-class record’.

He was hit by the pitcher's ball a total of 330 times.

He got on base after being hit 127 times more than Park Seok-min (212), who ranked second in the KBO's career by hitting pitches to his body.

The leader in this category in the American Major League is Huey Jennings (287 dead balls).

Choi Jeong-eun was hit by the pitcher's pitch so often that he earned the nickname 'Magnetic Jeong.'

The day after tying Manager Lee Seung-yeop's home run record (the 17th), in a game against KIA, Choi Jeong was hit in the chest by Will Crowe's ball, but after a short break, he returned to the plate and hit a refreshing home run.

SSG coach Lee Soong-yong explained, “He was born with good health, but thanks to good management, he doesn’t have a long-term absence even after being hit by the pitcher’s ball so often.”

Leaders who lived with Choi Jeong, including former coaches Beom-hyun Cho, Seong-geun Kim, Man-su Lee, Won-hyung Kim, and current SSG coach Sung-yong Lee, unanimously praise Choi Jeong's 'greed.'

Former coach Kim Seong-geun said in a phone call with Yonhap News, "In fact, when I was the coach of SK, I had the players do '120% of the possible training.'

Even if they could not complete 20% of the training, the intention was to make them 100%." ​

But Choi Jeong-eun said, He completed 100% of his training, or in fact 120%, during defense training in Jeju Island in November 2006, and made 1,000 pungos and 1,000 free bats at a similar level in the 2011 spring camp, when Choi Jeong became a top hitter.

“I did training,” he said.

He continued, "Choi Jeong-eun is a player who serves as an example to Korean baseball prospects.

This is an example that shows how hard his efforts can put a person on a high level."

Choi Jeong is still very greedy for training.