There is a man the KIA Tigers are waiting for. It is Choi Won-joon (26) who played an active role as an immovable lead-off in the first team.
Choi Won-joon is currently serving in the military at the Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu). He is scheduled to join the team on June 12 after he is discharged from military service.
Last year, Choi Won-joon bombed the Futures League. He played in 92 games and flew with a batting average of 0.382, 6 homers, 124 hits, 73 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.020. Choi Won-joon ranked first in batting average, hits, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage throughout the Northern and Southern Leagues. The Futures League was too narrow.
It was a somewhat predictable performance. Choi Won-joon left an impressive performance during the two seasons immediately before his enlistment. Choi Won-jun, who solidified his position as the main leadoff in 2020, achieved a batting average of 0.326 OPS and 0.808 in 123 games.
The following year, Choi Won-joon played 143 games and presented a performance with a batting average of 0.295, 174 hits and 40 stolen bases. Even in his Futures League, Choi Won-joon’s sophistication, which continued his momentum, remained intact, and clearly showed the aspect of his batting genius.
When Choi Won-joon joins, KIA will build a strong outfield line consisting of Choi Won-joon, Socrates Brito, and Na Seong-beom. Here, Lee Chang-jin, Lee Woo-sung, and Ko Jong-wook wait on the bench. In particular, the existence of Lee Chang-jin, who recorded a batting average of 30% (0.301 OPS 0.776) as the main left fielder last year, is reassuring.
Choi Won-joon is likely to return and take on leadoff duties. He has better batting ability than Park Chan-ho and Ryu Ji-hyeok, who were top hitters last year, and has the ability to run the bases to shake up the opponent’s battery and defense.
Park Chan-ho and Ryu Ji-hyeok can form a table setter with Choi Won-joon or be placed in the lower lineup. With the addition of Choi Won-joon, it is possible to test not only Park Chan-ho and Ryu Ji-hyuk, but also Kim Sun-bin and Kim Do-young in various batting order.
Last season, KIA led the team with 103 stolen bases. This year, the speed of the tiger corps is getting faster. Choi Won-joon, who led the Tigers’ foot baseball two years ago, and Park Chan-ho, the greatest swordsman of last season, will take the lead in mobility baseball. There is also Kim Do-young, who has excellent running ability. Running baseball led by Choi Won-joon is one of the key points of Tigers baseball for the next season. 메이저놀이터