Lions slugger Diaz becomes 1st foreign player to hit 50 home runs in KBO

Lewin Diaz of the Samsung Lions hits a three-run home run against the Kia Tigers during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular-season game at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Tuesday. It was Diaz's 50th home run of the season, making him the first foreign-born player in KBO history, and the fourth player overall, to reach the half-century mark. Yonhap

Lewin Diaz of the Samsung Lions became the first foreign-born player to hit 50 home runs in a season in South Korean baseball.

Diaz belted a three-run shot off Kim Tae-hyeong of the Kia Tigers during the bottom of the first inning of their Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

With his 50th homer, the Dominican Republic-born first baseman joined three others, all South Korean-born players, to reach the half-century mark in the KBO's 43-year history.

Former Lions slugger Lee Seung-yuop owns the single-season record with 56 home runs from the 2003 season, and he also had 54 homers in 1999. During Lee's home run case in 2003, Shim Chong-soo of the Hyundai Unicorns smoked 53 homers.

Diaz's current Lions teammate, Park Byung-ho, had 52 and then 53 homers in 2014 and 2015 for the Nexen Heroes.

The three-run shot gave Diaz 156 RBIs, already a league record. Park held the previous mark of 146 set in 2015.