KIA Tigers’ Choi Hyung-woo, 40, has reaffirmed his commitment to playing for a long time to come.
Choi Hyung-woo was honored with the Resurgence of the Year Award at the ‘2023 Baseball Sports Seoul Award’ ceremony held at the Elena Hotel in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul on March 30.
Choi, who began his professional career after being selected by Samsung in the sixth round (48th overall) of the 2002 rookie draft, is in his 22nd professional season. Despite an unfortunate injury that ended his season early, 카지노사이트넷 Choi played beyond his years, batting .332 (130-for-431) with 17 home runs, 81 RBIs, and an OPS of .887 in 121 games.
In 2065 career KBO games, Choi is batting .312 (7452-for-2233) with 373 home runs, 1542 RBIs, and a .934 OPS, surpassing Doosan’s Lee Seung-yeop (1498) for the most RBIs in history. He also surpassed Lee Seung-yup (464) for the most doubles in his career. He also ranks third in most hits, second in most doubles, and fifth in most home runs.
Choi, who has had somewhat down seasons over the past two years, batting just .259 (207-for-827) with 26 home runs, 126 RBIs and a .761 OPS in 236 games, said, “I came to the ceremony three years ago and thought I wouldn’t be able to come back, but I’m grateful for such a big award. It was a season with many regrets, both personally and as a team,” said Choi.
Kia fought for the top spot until the end of the season, but was plagued by injuries. Injuries to Choi Hyung-woo, Na Sung-beom, Park Chan-ho, and Choi Won-joon ultimately led to the team finishing sixth in the league with 73 wins, two draws, and 69 losses and failing to qualify for the postseason.
However, Choi sees hope in the season. “This year wasn’t just a disappointment,” Choi said, “I think we saw hope because the gap between us and the top teams wasn’t too big. I will try to do better next year,” he said. He continued, “I don’t think my injury was too big. If someone is injured, another player can take their place. I told the players a lot that an injured player can be a new opportunity,” he added.
The KBO now has only three players born in 1982 (Choo Shin-soo, Oh Seung-hwan, and Kim Kang-min). There are also only two players born in 1983, Choi Hyung-woo and Ko Hyo-joon (SSG). They are now approaching the point of preparing for the end of their careers. 안전놀이터 However, Choi said, “I’m excited for myself. I plan to play as long as my body allows. If the fans felt disappointed this year, I will definitely turn that disappointment into good feelings next year,” he said, promising a good performance.