“I don’t like saying, ‘Leave when you clap’. I have to do it until I can.”
Choi Hyung-woo (41) is the troubleshooter of Kia in professional baseball this year and next year. Even at the age of over 10 years, Choi successfully signed a multi-year contract as the oldest non-free agent (FA) at a cost of 2.2 billion won (approx. Considering Choi’s steady career, he is likely to achieve an option to extend his contract next year.
Choi Hyung-woo, who met with the Hankook Ilbo at the Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 11th, said, “I’m grateful that the club offered me two years first, even though I could sign a contract after looking at a one-year or one-year situation,” adding, “I have a great responsibility.” He added, “I don’t think I want to hit ‘Bbang Bang’ like Sung-beom and want 100 RBIs each season, but I think I’m looking forward to playing a role in helping my juniors grow.”
Choi Hyung-woo, a leading player in the “Samsung Dynasty” in the 2010s, became an FA after the 2016 season, and marked 10 billion won for four years with Kia, opening the era of 10 billion won for the first time in professional baseball. He also helped KIA win the Korean Series in 2017, its first year since its transfer. Having always been the centerpiece of Kia, Choi once again signed with Kia for three years and 4.7 billion won (3.81 million U.S. dollars) after the 2020 season. His performance in 2021 (batting average of 0.233, 12 homers and 55 RBIs) was not good, but he provided an opportunity to rebound in 2022, and showed off his forgetful energy with 17 homers and 81 RBIs with a batting average of 0.302 last year.
Although he is one year younger than Choo Shin-soo (SSG), who was born in 1982, 랭크카지노 who announced his retirement this year, he is not considering retirement at all. “I saw many seniors including Lee Dae-ho leave with cheers, and many retired seniors say, ‘It’s better to do it until you can. Do I have to leave in a state of regret?'” Choi said. “I will do it until I want to, but if I think I can’t, I will quit it then.” In fact, he confessed that when he was suffering from a severe slump in the 2021 season, he even played with retirement in his mind.
The success story of Choi, who overcame many hardships to become the best hitter, is so touching that it is even highlighted in MLB.COM, the official website of the Major League. After graduating from Jeon High School in 2002, Choi played only six games in the first division until 2004, and was released in 2005. After that, he joined the National Police Agency, where the new baseball team was established, and was called back by Samsung in 2008. In the same year, he hit .276 with 19 homers and 71 RBIs, and won the Rookie of the Year award in his mid-20s. Since then, he has reached the solid level and peaked as a man of record. His overall RBIs and doubles (490) rank first in history, surpassing those of Doosan Bears coach Lee Seung-yeop, who was once known as the “people’s batter.”