‘Mr. All-Star’ Choi Hyeong-woo, oldest batting champion – 6th championship challenge

KIA’s Choi Hyung-woo kisses the MVP trophy after being selected as the MVP of the 2024 Pro Baseball All-Star Game on the 6th. Choi Hyung-woo, who was selected as the oldest All-Star Game MVP, also received a prize of 10 million won.

What are the limits of Choi Hyeong-woo (41, KIA), who is aging backwards?

Choi Hyeong-woo, the ‘living legend’ of Korean professional baseball, has set another record as the oldest MVP of the All-Star Game. He will challenge for the oldest batting title and his 6th individual Korean Series championship in the second half of the season starting on the 9th.

Choi Hyeong-woo appeared as the 6th designated hitter for the Nanum All-Star Game in the 2024 KBO All-Star Game held at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 6th and recorded 3 hits and 2 RBIs in 4 at-bats. Choi Hyeong-woo received 19 out of 21 votes in the reporters’ MVP vote after the game, becoming the ‘star among stars’. Choi Hyeong-woo, who became ‘Mr. All-Star’ at 40 years, 6 months, and 20 days, pushed out Lee Byeong-gyu (then 36 years, 8 months, and 28 days) to become the oldest All-Star Game MVP in 2011.

Choi Hyung-woo, who led the Nanum All-Stars to a 4-2 victory, said, “I’ve never received an MVP award before, including the regular season and the All-Star game, so I really wanted to get it this time,” and “I even joked with my teammate Jeon Sang-hyun, who came up as a relief pitcher in the bottom of the 8th, saying, ‘Just block it no matter what. If you give me a run, I’ll get in trouble . ’”

Choi Hyung-woo has not won many awards compared to his skills. The biggest award he received was the Rookie of the Year award in 2008. In 2016, he had an MVP-level performance with a batting average of 0.376, 31 home runs, and 144 RBIs, but was pushed out by pitcher Nippert (then Doosan), who won 22 games that year. In 2020, at the age of 37, he recorded a batting average of 0.354, 28 home runs, and 115 RBIs, but the MVP award went to Rojas (KT), who hit 47 home runs.

Choi Hyung-woo, who seemed to be on a downward trend since 2021, has been reborn as a ‘man of records’ by regaining his problem-solving skills since last year when he was in his 40s. Last year, Choi Hyung-woo broke the records for the most doubles and most RBIs held by Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop along with a batting average of .300. As of the 7th, he has 509 doubles and 1,615 RBIs. This year, he has surpassed manager Lee and set the record for the most bases (4,120).

After hitting 17 home runs and 81 RBIs last year, he has already swept 16 home runs and 73 RBIs in the first half of this year, approaching last year’s numbers. If the current trend continues, he can hit 20 or more home runs and 100 RBIs for the first time in four years since 2020. He is currently leading the league in RBIs, and if he maintains his current position until the end of the season, he can become the oldest RBI king in KBO League history. The previous oldest RBI champion was former Lotte manager Larry Sutton, who led Hyundai with 102 RBIs in 2005 at the age of 35. Choi Hyung-woo said, “It was a perfect first half for both the team and me. I will work hard to manage my condition well and encourage my juniors so that I can finish the second half like this.” He won the Korean Series four times (2011-2014) when he was with Samsung, the first player to start his professional career, and won again in 2017, his first year with KIA. This year, he is challenging for his sixth championship ring. If Choi Hyung-woo wins his first Korean Series MVP, it will also be a record that will be remembered in the history of Korean professional baseball. The previous record was held by Kim Kang-min (Hanwha), who won the Korean Series MVP at the age of 40 in 2022. 온라인카지노사이트