Veteran slugger Choi Hyoung-woo smacked a solo home run and fell a triple shy of a cycle to earn the MVP honor, as Team Nanum defeated Team Dream 4-2 in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) All-Star Game, Saturday.
A sellout crowd of 22,500 braved windy and rainy conditions at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, just west of Seoul, and watched star players put their rivalries aside and stage a fun-filled show featuring silly costumes, props and adorable children.
The Nanum team had players from the Kia Tigers, the LG Twins, the NC Dinos, the Hanwha Eagles and the Kiwoom Heroes. The Dream squad had representatives from the KT Wiz, the Doosan Bears, the Lotte Giants, the Samsung Lions, and the host of the festivities, the SSG Landers.
Choi, designated hitter and outfielder for the KBO-leading Kia Tigers, opened the scoring for Nanum with a solo home run in the top of the second inning, after having his bat and helmet delivered by his son and daughter.
Choi, the KBO’s all-time leader in RBIs and total bases, later added a double and an RBI single to lead Nanum’s offense. He was voted the All-Star Game MVP after collecting 19 out of 21 votes from the media.
At 40 years, seven months and four days old, he became the oldest All-Star Game MVP in league history. He also received 10 million won ($7,220) in prize money.
Austin Dean of the Twins, who won the home run derby, Friday, smacked a two-run blast for Nanum in the third inning.
David MacKinnon of the Samsung Lions provided all the offense for Team Dream with a two-run shot in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Hanwha Eagles ace Ryu Hyun-jin, back in the KBO this season after 11 years in Major League Baseball, made his first All-Star Game start in 스포츠 12 years. He was credited with the win Saturday after tossing a clean first inning and earned the Best Pitcher award, the same honor that he received in 2012.
For Team Dream, Lions closer Oh Seung-hwan recorded the final two outs in the top of the ninth. At 41 years, 11 months and 21 days old, Oh became the oldest player ever to appear in an All-Star Game.
Many players brought their children to the ballpark. And there was no shortage of entertaining performances, with one highlight starring Lotte Giants outfielder Hwang Seong-bin, a last-minute injury replacement, as he delivered a rosin bag to his teammate on the mound, Park Se-woong, in a metal box while riding a scooter.
Costumes ranged from a leather jacket to a firefighter’s uniform — for Team Nanum reliever Cho Sang-woo trying to put out the figurative baseball fire — to a King Kong.
Dean, who has said he dreamed of becoming a pizza delivery man as a boy, brought real pizza to the plate and gave opposing catcher Yang Eui-ji a slice in the first inning.