SSG’s Choi Jung (36) finally became the most prolific run scorer in the KBO. 토스카지노 He surpassed Lee Seung-yeop (47). He now has 1,356 career points.

Choi batted third in the lineup for the second game of a midweek three-game series against Hanwha in the 2023 KBO League regular season at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Saturday, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.

He hit a leadoff double in the first inning. No one followed and no runs scored. In the top of the third inning, Choi hit another double and scored on Guillermo Heredia’s double down the left field line.

Choi slowly rounded third base and came home. The run scored. It was the 82nd run of the season and the 1356th of his career. He surpassed Lee Seung-yeop, the previous all-time leader.

SSG’s Choi Jung (center) runs home after hitting a two-run shot to left field against KIA in the 2023 KBO League at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Wednesday. Literature | Kang Young-jo kanjo@sportsseoul.com

With one run the previous day, he reached 1,555 runs, the same as Lee Seung-yup. He added a run in one day and became the sole leader. Lee set the record on October 3, 2017, and it took Choi 2164 days to surpass him.

Choi joined SK (now SSG) in 2005 as the first overall pick. Until this season, he had played for one team for 19 years. He hasn’t just played for a long time. He’s been good every season. It’s no exaggeration to say that he’s synonymous with consistency.

He has never won the title of most points in a season. He’s finished in the top 10 eight times, including a second-place finish in 2012 with 85 points. Instead, he’s been in the top 10 of offensive metrics every season.

He’s also steadily accumulated all the other metrics needed to “score runs. He hit 454 home runs. His 973 career walks rank seventh and second all-time. He also has 172 doubles. He put himself in scoring position.

SSG’s Choi Jeong-jeong scored a run in the third inning against Hanwha in the 2023 KBO League at Daejeon’s Hanwha Life Eagles Park on June 6 to become the all-time leader with 1356 career runs. Head coach Kim Won-hyung congratulates him. Photo courtesy of SSG Landers

He has scored the most runs in a single game six times, most notably on April 8, 2017, when he hit four home runs against the Literary NC. It was his fourth four-run game.

In addition, the team’s winning percentage in the 299 games in which Choi scored multiple runs (2 or more) is a whopping 0.867 (4-6, 3-50, 2-243).

Conversely, the win rate is much lower, around 4%, in games where no goals were scored. This indirectly suggests that Choi’s goal-scoring prowess had a significant impact on the team’s performance.

Now that Lee has passed Lee Seung-yeop, the next goal is to reach 1500 career points. He’ll be the first in history. It won’t be long now. The all-time record of 467 home runs is also within reach. He’ll reach this milestone next year.