Samsung Lions veteran Choi Hyoung-woo, 43, became the first player in KBO League history to reach 2,700 career hits.
Choi cleared the right-field fence off Jeon Yeong-jun with two outs and none on in the bottom of the eighth inning, breaking a 1-1 tie in Samsung's game against the SSG Landers at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 18th. It was his second straight game with a home run, following one against the Hanwha Eagles in Daegu on the 15th, and his 14th of the season.
After grounding out in his first at-bat in the second inning, drawing a walk in his second at-bat in the fourth, and hitting into a double play with a runner on first and none out in the sixth, Choi broke into a rare display of emotion, grinning broadly after his tie-breaking homer in the eighth.
The league's all-time hits leader, Choi has now produced 47 more hits than the No. 2 on the list, Son Ah-seop of the Doosan Bears, who has 2,653.
But Choi grounded out to second in a walk-off opportunity with two outs and runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth, with Samsung trailing 4-5. Samsung lost 4-5. Going 1-for-4 with a home run, one RBI and one run scored, Choi carries a season batting average of .316.
KT Wiz outfielder Ahn Hyun-min, 26, showed off his power with a massive home run. Ahn hit his eighth homer of the season, a solo shot off LG starter Im Chan-kyu in the fourth inning of KT's road game against the LG Twins at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.
Leading off with his team down 0-2, Ahn attacked a fastball from Im at a 3-1 count and sent it well over the left-center field fence.
He did not merely clear the left-center fence at Jamsil Stadium, the largest ballpark in the KBO League — he nearly sent the ball clear out of the stadium. The official distance measured by a KBO records official was 145 meters, tying the season's longest.
Earlier, Kang Baek-ho of the Hanwha Eagles against the NC Dinos in Changwon on May 28, Kim Hyung-jun of NC against the Lotte Giants in Changwon on May 30, and Moon Jung-bin of the LG Twins against the Samsung Lions in Daegu on July 8 each hit home runs traveling 145 meters.
Also, according to "BizWon," the batted-ball tracking system of Sports2i, the KBO's official records provider, Ahn's ball traveled at 178.1 km/h, the fastest home run ball speed recorded this season.
Data from "TrackMan," the tracking system used by the LG club, measured the distance at 144.6 meters and the ball speed at 180.2 km/h. KT, however, lost badly to LG, 1-9.
