21 Years with SSG... Four-Year Contract Starting This Year Remains
"Challenge for 600 Home Runs"
127 Home Runs in the Past Four Seasons
Choi Jeong of the professional baseball team SSG Landers has become the first player in Korean professional baseball history to reach 500 career home runs.
On the 13th, during a home game against the NC Dinos at Incheon SSG Landers Field, Choi hit a two-run home run over the left-field wall in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first base, connecting with a 135 km/h slider thrown by Riley Thompson on the sixth pitch of the at-bat.
This was his fifth home run of the season. Choi, who joined the predecessor of SSG, SK Wyverns, as the team's first-round draft pick in 2005, had hit 495 home runs over 20 years through last year. By adding five more this year, he has set a milestone as the first player in KBO League history to reach 500 home runs.
Choi Jeong of the professional baseball team SSG Landers is watching the ball after hitting his 500th career home run, the first in KBO League history, during the bottom of the 6th inning with two outs and a runner on first base in the game against NC Dinos at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 13th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
Choi is now aiming to become the first player in KBO League history to hit 600 home runs. After last season, he signed a new four-year contract with SSG worth a total of 11 billion won, creating the conditions necessary to pursue the 600-home-run milestone. Although his age?38 this year?poses a challenge, analysts say that if he continues to play for four more years including this season, he has a realistic chance of reaching 600 home runs. Over the past four seasons, Choi has hit 127 home runs.
He has also demonstrated sustained power this year, hitting five home runs in just 10 games. Choi played his first game of the season only on May 2, after recovering from a right leg muscle injury suffered before the season opener.
His consistency is also a reason for optimism regarding the 600-home-run mark, as he has hit double-digit home runs for 19 consecutive seasons from his second year in the league in 2006 through last year.
After reaching 500 home runs, Choi said, "I'm relieved to have achieved the 500-home-run milestone quickly," and added, "I will also challenge myself to reach 600 home runs in the future."
On April 24 last year, in an away game against Lotte, Choi hit his 468th home run, surpassing current Doosan manager Lee Seungyeop (who hit 467) to set the KBO's all-time career home run record, further cementing his status as the league's premier home run hitter.
He has won the home run title three times in his career. In 2016, he claimed his first home run crown with 40 home runs, and followed it up the next year with a personal best of 46 home runs, becoming the home run champion for two consecutive years. In 2021, he reclaimed the title with 35 home runs. During Choi's tenure, SSG has dominated as a powerhouse, winning the Korean Series five times (2007, 2008, 2010, 2018, and 2022).
In addition to home runs, Choi also leads in career runs scored. On September 6, 2023, in a game against Hanwha in Daejeon, he scored his 1,356th run, surpassing manager Lee Seungyeop's record (1,355 runs), and he currently has 1,468 runs scored.
Choi has played in 2,303 games, ranking second all-time behind Kang Minho of Samsung (2,408 games), and is also second in career RBIs with 1,571, trailing only Choi Hyungwoo of KIA (1,674 RBIs).
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