There are signs that the ‘national hitter’ Lee Seung-yeop will finally completely disappear from the top of the rankings. He’s been gone for 8 years and 6 years have passed and he’s still number one. This is why the term ‘Legend of Legends’ or ‘GOAT’ comes from.안전놀이터
As of the 4th, based on the KBO career leaderboard, Doosan coach Seung-yeop Lee is ranked first in home runs, runs scored, and bases. 467 home runs, 1,355 runs, and 4,077 bases. Before the start of this season, he was also first in doubles (464) and RBI (1,498). However, KIA batting general Choi Hyeong-woo passed it by. Choi Hyung-woo, who made a comeback this season, ran away from coach Lee Seung-yeop with 484 doubles and 1,535 RBI.
Coach Lee Seung-yeop’s ‘title belt release’ will take place again. Choi Jeong went 2 hits (1 home run), 2 RBIs, and 1 run in 3 at-bats against KIA in Incheon on the 3rd. In the bottom of the 5th inning, he made four consecutive foul cuts on a two-seam and a curveball from first baseman KIA sidearm Park Jun-pyo with no outs, and then pulled the two-seamer 142km and fired a left-handed two-run gun.
With this one shot, he scored 80 points for the season and 1,354 points in his career. Now, if he adds just one more point, he will have 1,355 points and will be tied for first place in total scoring along with coach Seung-yeop Lee. There is a high possibility that he will surpass Coach Lee and become the sole first place in the three-game series against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 5th to 7th.
If this happens, the only way for Coach Lee Seung-yeop to remain at the top of the leaderboard is with home runs and base hits in the cumulative record based on the KBO website. Considering that a base hit doesn’t have much symbolism, what remains is a home run. Coach Lee’s symbol and alter ego, which is like his last pride, will also be ranked first in career home runs, eventually giving up first place to Choi Jeong and falling to second place in the 2024 season.
Choi Jeong-eun recorded his 25th hit of the season and his 454th home run of his career with a two-run hit on the 3rd. They trailed Manager Lee’s 467 home runs by 13. There is still about a month left in the season. Choi Jeong is also good at pushing, just like Coach Lee did during his active years. Considering the pace in the second half of the season, there is not much chance of it being surpassed this season, and it is expected that it will eventually take first place in the early 2024 season. He already predicted a turnaround around the 2024 season at the 2022 year-end awards ceremony.
In some ways, this is why this director is so great. In fact, if you add coach Lee’s career records in Japanese professional baseball, it is still difficult for Choi Jeong or Choi Hyung-woo to surpass his career cumulative records of home runs, RBIs, doubles, and runs scored. Coach Lee played in Japan for eight years from 2004 to 2011.
Even with an eight-year handicap, six years have passed since his retirement in 2017, and he still ranks first in career home runs and runs scored, and second in doubles and RBI. Son Ah-seop (NC, 416) is second in active career doubles, and Choi Jeong is second in active RBI with 1,442. This means that Coach Lee will not go down to 3rd place on the all-time list right away. In terms of RBI, Choi Jeong is expected to move up to second place next year after Choi Hyeong-woo, lowering Manager Lee to third place.
If Choi Jeong soon rises to the top of the all-time scoring list, Coach Lee’s greatness will be highlighted once again. No matter what anyone says, he is the GOAT and a legend of legends. What’s interesting here is that director Lee doesn’t have time to worry about this. Coach Lee’s Doosan has recently fallen to 6th place due to KIA’s rapid rise. Coincidentally, while Choi Jeong is threatening Coach Lee, Coach Lee is in a fierce battle with KIA in their three home games during the week.