Choi Hyoung-woo sets new KBO record with 1,500th RBI

Baseball

Published: 21 Jun. 2023, 15:32 Updated: 21 Jun. 2023, 17:25

Choi Hyoung-woo sets new KBO record with 1,500th RBI

Choi Hyoung-woo hits two-run home run over the wall at the top of the fourth inning in a game against the Hanwha Eagles at Daejeon Hanbat Baseball Stadium in Daejeon on Tuesday. With the two runs, the 1,499th and 1,500th RBIs of his career, Choi set a new KBO record for most career RBIs. [YONHAP]

Kia Tigers slugger Choi Hyoung-woo hit his 1,500th career RBI in style on Tuesday, slamming a two-run home run over the wall to become the KBO’s all-time RBI leader.

Choi went deep in the fourth inning with the Tigers down by one against the Hanwha Eagles at Daejeon Hanbat Baseball Stadium in Daejeon. Choi’s big fly turned the tide, with the Tigers going on to win 6-4 in the opening game of the series.

But more importantly, Choi’s home run lifted him two RBIs above the previous KBO RBI record, held for years by former Samsung Lions slugger Lee Seung-yuop.

Lee, known as the Lion King and now the manager of the Doosan Bears, hit 1,498 RBIs in his career, with Lee Dae-ho — also now retired — coming in third on 1,425 RBIs. Choi Jeong of the SSG Landers is the next active player on this list, with 1,415 RBIs.

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Like Lee, Choi started his career with the Samsung Lions, drafted in 2001 and making a handful of appearances in the 2002 and 2003 seasons. He was released in 2004, eventually settling into a career in the Futures League where he started to develop as a prolific slugger.

Choi’s Futures League career started to turn heads, and the Lions quickly resigned him in 2007. He rejoined the club when he finished his military service the following year and hit his first KBO RBI that season.

Ending the 2008 season with 71 ribies to his name and Rookie of the Year honors, Choi quickly started to rack up big numbers. He broke 20 home runs the following season, and by 2011 he was at 30 home runs and 118 RBIs.

That 2011 season was a sign of things to come. Choi has had seven 100-RBI seasons in his career so far — 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020 — passing the 30 home run mark in four of those years. Hugely prolific at the plate, Choi, alongside Lee, was a key part of the Samsung squad that dominated the KBO in the early 2010s.

Choi signed with the Tigers as a free agent at the end of the 2016 season, becoming the first player in the KBO to sign a 10-billion-won ($7.7-million) contract. He continued to post big numbers, with 120 RBIs to kick off his time in Gwangju in 2017.

Now 39 years old, Choi has seen his numbers start to slow down slightly in the last few years. He hit 14 home runs last season and batted in 71 RBIs with a 0.264 batting average and a 0.421 slugging percentage.

But Choi still looks pretty dangerous so far this season. In 59 appearances he’s hit nine home runs and 39 RBIs for a 0.313 batting average and a 0.514 slugging percentage.

That nine home runs includes Tuesday’s effort, a long ball for the history books that allowed Choi to round the bases as his own 1,500th RBI.

The ball Choi hit over the fence bounced off the outfield grass and back onto the field, where Hanwha center fielder Moon Hyun-bin tossed it over the fence to a fan. Hanwha officials quickly approached the fan to try and get the ball back, but the fan was not willing to take a deal.

Choi himself does not seem to be concerned about losing the souvenir.

“Honestly, I don’t feel much attachment to the ball,” Choi said after the game. “It’s not at all an issue that the fan wants to keep it.”

Choi Hyoung-woo’s decision to forego a hunt for the historic ball comes just a few days after SSG Landers slugger Choi Joo-hwan was criticized for his attempts to persuade a fan to give back a ball he hit over the fence on June 16 that was his career 1,000th hit.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]