Wyvern's Choi belts 45th homer to write history in KBO
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SK Wyverns’ third baseman Choi Jeong reacts after hitting a grand slam during the seventh inning of his team’s Korea Baseball Organization League game against the Kia Tigers at SK Happy Dream Park in Incheon, Wednesday. The Wyverns won 15-10. / Yonhap
Slugging 3B ties KBO record for most home runs in a single season
By Baek Byung-yeul
SK Wyverns’ third baseman Choi Jeong is famous for keeping his ultimate poker face when he is at the plate. But the slugger couldn’t hide his emotions Wednesday night when he looked at his grand slam against the Kia Tigers’ reliever Lim Chang-yong.
The bases-loaded home run came in the bottom of the seventh inning at SK Happy Dream Park in Incheon. With two outs, the fifth-place Wyverns were chasing the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League leading Tigers 10-9.
With two balls and two strikes, Lim tossed a 146-kilometer fastball, but Choi slammed the ball out of the park. The 41-year-old veteran pitcher had to shake his head watching the ball sail over the left field fence while Choi raised his right hand high, making the score 13-10.
The Wyverns added two more runs for a come-from-behind 15-10 win against the Tigers and maintain a razor-thin 0.5 game lead over the sixth-place LG Twins who defeated the fourth-place Lotte Giants 3-1 on the same day.
Choi’s homer was his 45th of the season. The 30-year-old hit his 44th three-run home run off the Tigers’ starting pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong in the third inning. Now, Choi tied the Wyverns’ franchise record for the most home runs in a single season set by Jose Fernandez in 2002. It is also the all-time record for the most home runs in a single season by a third baseman.
“I am scared of Lim’s ball all the time. I wasn’t even able to hit his breaking ball yesterday. And I felt the same way today,” Choi told reporters after the game. “It feels a bit rude for me to say this after hitting a home run against him, but I was only thinking that I wouldn’t get struck out. And somehow I hit a grand slam.”
Statistically, Choi had been weak against Lim this season, going 0-for-3 before the seventh inning. In Tuesday’s game, Choi struck out against Lim when his team was losing 2-6 in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and runners on first and third.
“I learned that I tied the KBO record after the game. I am so honored,” Choi said.
Mentioning that his original goal for the 2017 season was hitting at least 40 home runs, Choi said he will concentrate on the team record from now on.
“I really want our team to advance to the playoffs. We need to play like every game is a playoff game,” said Choi. “I hit 40 homers for the first time last season. My goal this season was also hitting 40. After achieving my personal goal, I am only concentrating on my team’s record.”
With nine games left in the regular season, the Wyverns are ranked fifth with 69 wins, one draw and 65 losses as of Wednesday. In the 10-team league, the team in fifth place will grab the last ticket to the playoffs as the fourth and the fifth place teams will have a two-game wildcard round after the regular season. There are only 1.5 games separating the Wyverns from the Twins (64-3-61) and the seventh-place Nexen Heroes (67-2-66).
It also remains to be seen whether Choi can add five more home runs in nine games to hit more than 50 homers this season. In 36 years of KBO history, every team that had a hitter with 50 plus home runs made it to the playoffs. There have been only three batters -- Lee Seung-yuop, Shim Jeong-soo and Park Byung-ho -- who reached the 50-home run mark in the league.
It looks like he already secured the home run king spot for the second consecutive season. As of Wednesday, Choi leads the league in home runs with 45, followed by Wilin Rosario of the Hanwha Eagles (39) and Kim Jae-hwan of the Doosan Bears (33). Last season, he held the record for the most home runs with 40, along with then NC Dinos’ first baseman Eric Thames.