SSG Landers Choi Jeong.
SSG Landers’ Choi Jung (36) has been removed from the first team roster due to a season-ending injury. Choi, who was in contention for the home run title, will not be able to play in the remaining regular season games, effectively cementing the title of home run king to Noh Si-hwan (23-Hanwha Eagles).
SSG removed Choi from its first-team roster ahead of its 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League game against the Kiwoom Heroes at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Wednesday.
Outfielder Kang Jin-sung was registered in Choi’s place.
According to SSG officials, Choi was injured while running the bases in an away game against the KIA Tigers on April 10. After a medical examination, he was diagnosed with a micro-damage to his left hamstring, which will keep him out of action for about a week.
SSG has four games remaining, including this one, and Choi will miss all of them.
With Choi’s regular season coming to an end, the race for the home run title could very well end with a win for Noh Si-hwan.
Hanwha Eagles’ Noh Si-hwan.
Noh leads the category with 31 home runs to date. Choi Jeong-jeong with 29 homers is second, while Chae Eun-sung (Hanwha, 23) and Austin Dean (LG, 22) are virtually untouchable in the remaining games.
Noh was away at the end of last month when he was selected to the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games squad, and Choi Jung came on strong to cut the deficit to two runs.
It looked like the race for the home run title would continue until the final inning, but Choi’s departure put an end to the contest.
Hanwha hasn’t had a home run king in 15 years since Kim Tae-gyun (31) in 2008. 19가이드03