There’s no such thing as an aging curve. Even in his age 40 season, he’s still superlative. He’s still one of the best hitters in the game and gets the most out of his chances. KIA veteran left fielder Choi Hyung-woo (40) once again exuded hot energy at Champions Field.
Choi came to bat as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the fifth inning of the second game of a doubleheader against LG at Gwangju KIA Champions Field on Sept. 9. Facing rookie sidearm pitcher Park Myung-geun, he lined a four-pitch 146-kilometer fastball over the right field fence for a grand slam. The home run clinched the first game of the doubleheader for KIA, which also won the second game. In the top of the sixth inning, Choi Hyung-woo, who was playing outfield defense, came to the plate and the crowd erupted in applause once again.
This season, Choi is batting .297 with 16 home runs, 78 RBIs, and an OPS of .872. He is second on the team in OPS behind Na Sung-bum and tied for second in home runs with Na. He is still the left-handed power hitter and fixer that every pitcher fears. KIA swept the doubleheader from Choi Hyung-woo to improve to 59 wins, 52 losses and 2 ties on the season. They dropped SSG to fifth place and jumped to fourth. They now trail third-place NC by 1.5 games.
After the game, Choi Hyung-woo said, “It feels good to play well in both games of the doubleheader against the No. 1 team. Many fans came to the stadium and gave us great support from the first game, so we knew we had to do better today,” said Choi.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve played a doubleheader and I’m tired. But the other team was playing in the same conditions, so I thought I had to get through it,” he said.
“I came up to bat as a pinch hitter, but Koh Jong-wook had hit a single earlier, so I felt more comfortable going up to bat. Even if I got out, it was still one out and I could continue my offense, so I was thinking about taking my time with my swing rather than going for a certain target, and I think that led to a good result,” he recalled of his big hit.먹튀검증
It was Choi’s second pinch-hit home run and his eighth.
“I try to create a good atmosphere in the dugout by cheering for the players rather than giving them baseball advice,” he said. “I think my role in the dugout is that much because the junior players have their own baseball views to a certain extent. If you play games with junior players in a good atmosphere, your performance will naturally follow, and I think you can start fall baseball in a higher position.”