Choi Hyung-woo (41) of the Kia Tigers, the “Naturity Man,” has a remarkable RBI pace. Choi Hyung-woo, who exploded six RBIs in a game for the first time in 12 years, is challenging the KBO’s new history, which even Lee Dae-ho (42) failed to make.
Choi Hyung-woo started as the fourth batter and designated hitter in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League regular season visit match against SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 12th, and led KIA to a 13-7 victory by recording three hits (one home run) and six RBIs in six times at bat.
As a result, KIA returned the SSG and this series to its starting point with one win and one loss, rising to first place by 0.5 games, beating the LG Twins (38 wins, two draws and 28 losses), who lost 4-5 to the Samsung Lions on the same day.
Choi, who had hits in five consecutive games including a home run the previous day, continued to experience the peak hitting sense on the day as well. After being grounded out after hitting a fly ball in the first two at-bats, Choi didn’t miss an opportunity at the third table.
KIA made the bases loaded with one out in the top of the fifth inning when Kim Tae-gun hit the ball and Park Chan-ho and Lee Chang-jin walked consecutively. Kim Do-young only hit a ground ball to first base, loading the bases with two outs, and Choi Hyung-woo hit Oh Won-seok’s fifth high fastball hard, making a timely two-run hit to the left field heading toward the shortstop. This was Choi Hyung-woo’s 4078 hit, which was also the new record in the most luta category in the KBO league. Previously, he was tied for first with Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop for a 4077 hit, but he once again engraved his name in KBO league history.
It was not the end. Choi turned the tables with his bat when the team was losing 0-5. With runners on the first and third bases with no outs in the top of the sixth inning when the team was losing 2-5, Kim Tae-gun and Seo Geon-chang made it 4-5 with timely hits. Park Chan-ho poured cold water on it with a double play, but Lee Chang-jin continued the chance with a two-out walk to the first and third base, and Kim Do-young hit a timely RBI single to left-handed pitcher Roh Kyung-eun, making the game even at 5-5. Choi made a come-from-behind 6-5 by hitting a fork in the fourth pitch of Roh Kyung-eun to make another timely RBI single to the left.
Choi also scored seven points in the top of the seventh inning to seal the victory. With the bases loaded with two outs, KIA ran away 9-5 with Lee Chang-jin and Kim Do-young making timely hits. Choi hit Park Min-ho’s third fastball to significantly cross the left fence, and became a large three-run homerun to make it 12-5. It was Choi’s 11th homer of this season. 스포츠토토
With this homer, Choi successfully played six RBIs in a game for the first time in exactly 12 years since the game against the Daegu Hanwha Eagles on June 12, 2012, when he was with Samsung. Twelve years have passed, but the only thing that has changed is the uniform. As a player with the highest number of RBIs in his career in the KBO, Choi still showed off his troubleshooter instinct and led his team to a miraculous upset.
What’s expected is that he will become the first RBI king in his 40s and the oldest in the KBO. Choi joined the race with six RBIs on the day. With 56 RBIs this season, he instantly jumped to third place in the division along with Austin Dean (LG) and Mel Rojas Jr. (KT Wiz). Kang Baek-ho (KT), the top-ranked player, has 59 RBIs, which is only three shy of Choi.
Until now, RBI singles seemed to be an unattainable area for veterans aged 35 or older. It is advantageous to be in the center lineup in order to produce a lot of RBIs, but it is not easy to maintain the position at an age when retirement is considered. As a result, Larry Sutton (then Hyundai Unicorns) was 35 years old when he recorded 102 RBIs in 2005.
Most recently, Lee Dae-ho challenged the oldest RBI king in 2019, staying in the top three in the RBI category until June at the age of 37. However, Lee’s RBI pace dropped along with the team’s falling performance, eventually tying for 10th with 88 RBIs.
This year, Choi Hyung-woo is considered to be the only player who can challenge for the oldest RBI king and the first RBI king in his 40s. Choi Hyung-woo was not good with a batting average of 0.255-OPS of 0.739 in 24 games in April, but he is gradually improving his pace with a batting average of 0.307-OPS of 0.901 in 23 games in May and a batting average of 0.314-OPS of 0.929, in nine games in June. The fact that his team KIA is a strong team that is trying to win this year’s championship, and that the KBO league’s top table setters, Park Chan-ho and Kim Do-young, are ahead of Choi Hyung-woo, raises his chances of becoming the RBI king.