When he swings, history follows. Choi Hyoung-woo (43, Samsung Lions), who became the first player in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to reach 4,500 total bases on the 10th of this month, is now on the verge of becoming the league's first player to record 1,000 extra-base hits.
According to the KBO on the 21st, Choi, the oldest active hitter in the league who debuted in 2002, has produced a total of 997 extra-base hits through the 20th of this month, including 551 doubles, 20 triples, and 426 home runs. He needs just three more to reach the career milestone of 1,000 extra-base hits.
Choi Jeong (SSG Landers) trails in second place all-time with 983, but Choi Hyoung-woo is highly likely to claim the historic first. The 1,000 extra-base hits mark is a record that none of the KBO's most prominent power hitters, including Lee Seung-yuop (959) and Yang Joon-hyuk (834), have achieved. In Lee Seung-yuop's case, adding the 305 he recorded in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) brings his career total to 1,264 extra-base hits.
In the NPB, only two players have ever reached 1,000 extra-base hits. Sadaharu Oh recorded 1,315 extra-base hits with 868 home runs, 422 doubles, and 25 triples. Katsuya Nomura tallied 1,077 with 397 doubles, 23 triples, and 657 home runs. Korean-Japanese player Isao Harimoto, with 420 doubles, 72 triples, and 504 home runs, sits third all-time in the NPB at 996 extra-base hits, four short of the milestone. Major League Baseball (MLB) has 39 players in its 1,000 extra-base hits club, 28 of whom have been inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame.
Choi Hyoung-woo holds KBO league records for most career hits (2,638), doubles, and runs batted in (1,768), and recently surpassed 4,500 total bases. Total bases refer to the number of bases a batter safely advances after recording a hit.
Choi, who returned to his original club Samsung after acquiring free agent (FA) status late last year, is leading the team's race for first place with a red-hot bat that ranks third overall in batting average (.354).
