Choi Jeong (Korean: 최정; born February 28, 1987) is a third baseman who has played his whole career for the SK Wyverns (known as the SSG Landers beginning in 2021) in the Korea Baseball Organization. He bats and throws right-handed. Choi's 488 career home runs rank first on the KBO all-time list. His 313 career hit-by-pitches (HBP) is the most in the KBO as well as the world record. He was hit by his 288th pitch in 2021 and surpassed Hughie Jennings' 287 hit-by-pitches.[1]
| Choi Jeong | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Choi playing for the South Korea national team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic | |||||||||||||||||||||
| SSG Landers – No. 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Third baseman | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born: February 28, 1987 Icheon | |||||||||||||||||||||
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||||||||
| KBO debut | |||||||||||||||||||||
| April 2, 2005, for the SK Wyverns | |||||||||||||||||||||
| KBO statistics (through April 24, 2024) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .287 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 488 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Run batted in | 1,474 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Hit by pitch | 329 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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| Choi Jeong | |
| Hangul | 최정 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 崔廷 |
| Revised Romanization | Choe Jeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ch'oe Chŏng |
Education edit
- Suwon Yushin High School
- Anyang Pyongchon Middle School
- Seongnam Daeil Elementary School
Amateur career edit
While playing for Yushin High School in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, he batted 4th and threw in the mid-90s, playing all nine positions as a No.1 starting pitcher and position player.
In July 2004, Choi was selected for the South Korea national junior team as a pitcher and participated in the 2004 World Junior Baseball Championship held in Taiwan. Choi started South Korea's first match in the preliminary round, and pitched 5 innings and gave up a run, leading his team to a 5–2 victory over Italy. South Korea eventually won the bronze medal at the competition.
In December 2004, he was named best high school batter of the year.
Notable international careers edit
| Year | Venue | Competition | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 |  Chinese Taipei
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World Junior Baseball Championship | 
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Professional career edit
Signed by the SK Wyverns, Choi made his pro league debut in the 2005 season. He was successful as both a starting pitcher and a slugger in high school, but finally decided to be a full-time batter for his pro career.
As a third baseman, he had several mediocre seasons, but broke out in 2007 when he had 109 hits, 16 home runs and batted .267.
In 2008, Choi helped his team to become two-time Korean Series Champions, and he was finally named the series MVP.
In 2016 and 2017, Choi became the best power-hitter in the KBO, leading the league in home runs both seasons, with 40 and 46 home runs, respectively.
Choi became a free agent after the 2018 season, staying with the Wyverns at 10.6 billion won in total for six years.[2]
In 2019 Choi led the league in HBP with 26; it was the seventh time he had 20+ HBP in 11 seasons. He was hit by pitch another 20 times in 2020.
On April 24, 2024, Choi hit his 468th career home run, passing Lee Seung-yuop to become the all–time KBO home run leader.[3]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "KBO's top baseball magnet passes MLB mark with 288th hit-by-pitch," The Korea Herald (August 19, 2021)
- ^ 하, 남직 (2018-12-05). "최정, 6년 106억원에 SK와 잔류 계약…KBO 공식 최장 타이(종합)". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- ^ "Landers slugger Choi Jeong becomes new KBO career home run leader". koreatimes.co.kr. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
External links edit
- Career statistics and player information from Korea Baseball Organization
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Choi Jeong at SK Wyverns Baseball Club (in Korean)
- Choi Jeong Fancafe at Naver (in Korean)
- Choi Jeong on Cyworld (in Korean)
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