We’ve come full circle, starting with a ‘sell-out’ opening day. As we look ahead to the second half of the season, here are some highlights from the many records set during the first 397 games.
Baseball popularity finally returns to pre-COVID-19 levels
Baseball has been hot this season. The sport has regained its pre-COVID-19 popularity. Players are competing for “record-breaking” standings, and fans are responding in kind, with a total of 397 games in the first half of the season drawing more than 4 million fans (4.41 million), up 33 per cent from the same time last year (3.329 million). If the momentum continues this season, we will not only surpass last year’s total (6.076 million), but also reach the 8 million mark for the first time in five years after 2018 (8.073 million).
KIA’s Choi Hyung-woo in his 18th year in the KBO, the first player in history to record 1,500 hits and two doubles
In his 18th season in the KBO, KIA’s Choi Hyung-woo has become the league’s all-time leader in hits and doubles.
On 20 June, he hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning against the Daejeon Hanwha Eagles, surpassing Lee Seung-yeop (formerly of Samsung) with 1,498 RBIs and reaching the 1,500 RBI milestone that no one else in the KBO has achieved.
Earlier, on 23 April against the Gwangju Samsungs, he hit his 465th double, surpassing Lee Seung-yeop’s 464, which was also the previous record for career doubles.
KIA’s Yang Hyun-jong ranks second in wins and third in innings pitched.
On 27 May, KIA’s Yang Hyun-jong recorded 162 wins against LG in Gwangju, surpassing Jeong Min-chul (formerly of Hanwha) to become the second most wins in his career.
With 162 of his 164 career wins coming in starts, Yang will tie Song Jin-woo’s (formerly of Hanwha) record of 163 career starts with one more win. Meanwhile, on 21 May against Gwangju Kiwoom, he surpassed the 2,205 innings pitched mark in his career, passing Lee Kang-chul (ex-KIA) for third place on the most innings pitched list.
One step closer to the KBO’s record for most hits, NC’s Son As-seop tied for second on the list
NC Son Ah-seop, who is chasing the top spot in career hits, took another step towards the record.
On 5 July, he recorded his 2,319th hit with a single up the middle against Gochuk Kiwoom, surpassing Yang Jun-hyuk (formerly of Samsung)’s 2,318 to take sole possession of second place in career hits.
He also became the youngest player to reach 2,500 hits and closed the gap on Park Yong-taek’s (former LG) record of 2,504 hits. Son pounded out a career-high five hits in the final game of the first half against the Changwon Lotte on the 13th to become the fifth player in history to reach 100 hits in 14 consecutive seasons and is well on track to become the first player in history to reach 150 hits in eight consecutive seasons.
‘온라인카지노Still a Boy’s Business’ Double-digit home runs for a record 18 consecutive seasons
SSG’s Choi Jung, the living history of the KBO’s home run record, has set a new record for the first time in history, hitting double-digit home runs in 18 consecutive seasons.
On 1 June, Choi hit back-to-back home runs at Samsung Electronics in Munhak, extending his previous KBO record for the most consecutive seasons with double-digit home runs from 17 to 18. Choi, who also earned monthly MVP honours for his 11 home runs in June, has 448 career home runs and is fast approaching 450 and Lee Seung-yup’s all-time home run record of 467.
NC ‘New Ace’ Eric Peddie Wins 10 Games & Ties Record for Wins Against Former Club in Fewest Games
After joining NC this season, Peddie immediately established himself as the Dinosaurs’ ace, racking up wins at a remarkable pace.
On 9 June, in his 12th appearance of the season, he picked up his 10th win against SSG in Changwon, tying the KBO League record for fewest wins in 10 games.
He became the third player in history to achieve this feat, joining Kim Il-young (Samsung) in 1985 and Jeong Min-chul (Hanwha) in 1993. The Dinosaurs are also looking forward to the second half of the season after a perfect first half in which he tied the record for wins against clubs in the least amount of games in his 15th appearance of the season, finishing with the most wins (12) and the highest ERA (1.71).
LG’s Jung Woo-young & Kiwoom’s Lee Jung-hoo ‘break the youngest record’
LG’s Jeong Woo-young and Kiwoom Lee Jung-hoo, who have gone from promising youngsters to representing the KBO League, are both breaking records as the youngest players in their respective positions.
Jung Woo-young became the youngest player to reach 100 holds on 8 April against Samsung in Jamsil at the age of 23 years, 7 months and 20 days. The previous record was held by Hanwha’s Jung Woo-ram at 25 years, 11 months, and 17 days. Jung Woo-young broke the record by two years, and also broke Han Hyun-hee’s record for the fewest 100 holds in a game (336) by reaching the milestone in 261 games.
Lee Jung-hoo created another record for the youngest player to reach 100 hits. Lee, who has hit at least 100 hits in every season since her debut, recorded her 100th hit of the season on 11 July against KT Gochuk. The hit marked his seventh consecutive 100-hit season at the age of 24 years, 10 months and 21 days, surpassing Lee Seung-yeop’s record of 24 years, 11 months and 24 days.
KIA records seventh team triple steal in KBO history
All three players played. KIA created a new record.
On 29 April, the Jamsil KIA-LG game saw the seventh triple steal in the 42-year history of the KBO League. In the top of the ninth inning, KIA’s Kim Kyu-sung, Lee Woo-sung, and Socrates completed a triple steal that caught the opposing defence off-guard, drawing cheers from the fans. Kia made a rare infield play in a tight game and secured the win, making the record even more impressive.
[Yonhap News]
NC’s priceless ‘1-hit win’
In a baseball game where you need to score runs to win, you need a lot of hits and runs to win. However, NC managed to win with only one hit.
On 15 April against Literature SSG, NC managed only one hit in 10 innings, but won the game 1:0. With the help of the pitching staff and the batting line-up’s focus in the moment, NC managed the fifth one-hit game win in KBO history.