Kia Tigers' Choi tops KBO All-Star voting
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Kia Tigers’ Choi Hyung-woo hits an RBI single in a Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League game against the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, Friday. Choi topped the All-Star Game voting. / Yonhap
By Baek Byung-yeul
Kia Tigers’ slugging outfielder Choi Hyung-woo topped the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League’s All-Star voting, the KBO announced Monday.
The KBO unveiled 12-man rosters for the Dream and Nanum All-Star teams for this year’s All-Star Game, which will take place at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on July 15. The Dream team is comprised of players from the Doosan Bears, the Samsung Lions, the SK Wyverns, the Lotte Giants and the KT Wiz while players from the NC Dinos, the Nexen Heroes, the Hanwha Eagles, the Kia Tigers and the LG Twins will play for the Nanum team.
The 12-man rosters were chosen after weighing the results with 70 percent of the votes coming from online and 30 percent from players, with the totals were converted into points. A total of 2,123,872 fans cast their ballots online, up from last year’s 1,715,634 votes, and 294 KBO players and coaches also voted on June 21.
The Tigers’ Choi led all players with 54.95 points as he received 1,187,481 votes from fans and 155 votes from coaches and players.
After playing 11 seasons for the Lions, Choi signed a four-year deal worth 10 billion won ($8.72 million) with the Tigers over the winter. He has proven his worth to the Tigers as he has had the league’s most RBIs with 69, the highest on-base percentage at .472 and the second-highest batting average with .366.
Choi’s teammate and starting pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong earned the second most points with 54.62 after getting 1,134,100 votes from fans and 169 from players and coaches. He will start the All-Star Game for the Nanum team while the Bears’ starting pitcher Dustin Nippert, who earned 31.72 points, will start the game for the Dream team for the second consecutive season.
The Tigers, who lead the league in the standings with 51 wins and 27 losses, have produced the most All-Stars this year. Including Yang and Choi, the Gwangju-based team will also send relief pitcher Kim Yun-dong, catcher Kim Min-sik, shortstop Kim Sun-bin, second baseman An Chi-hong, third baseman Lee Bum-ho and outfielder Roger Bernadina.
The Giants’ first baseman Lee Dae-ho received the most votes of 205 from players and coaches. Lee was the only player who earned more than 200 votes from them. Overall, Lee had the fourth highest points of 54.35 to make his eighth All-Star Game appearance.
The Lions’ veteran slugger Lee Seung-yuop will make his 11th All-Star Game appearance as he was voted as the designated hitter for the Dream team. Lee, who has hit the most home runs in the league’s history with 457, will be the oldest player to play at the All-Star Game at the age of 40 years, 10 months and 27 days. This will be his last All-Star Game appearance as he revealed he plans to retire after this season. He earned the third-highest points with 54.41.
The Heroes’ rookie outfielder Lee Jeong-hoo will be the youngest player to play in an All-Star Game in the league’s history. The 18-year-old, who earned 39.91 points, surpassed the previous record held by the Tigers’ second baseman An, who made his first All-Star Game appearance in 2009 at the age of 19.
Including Lee, a total of seven players will make their first All-Star Game.
Besides 24 players, the KBO will announce additional rosters on Wednesday as managers for each team, the Bear’s Kim Tae-hyung for the Dream and the Dinos’ Kim Kyung-moon for the Nanum, will select an additional 12 players respectively.