"Not a single penny of 2.2 billion won is wasted" ... 41-year-old Choi Hyung-woo always shines when the team is in trouble

[Financial News] It's Choi Hyung-woo (41) again. But there's no choice. This year too, KIA has no option but to rely on him. Kim Do-young and Choi Hyung-woo are KIA's most explosive batting lineup. Even as he surpasses 40 years of age, his batting sense shows no signs of cooling. And even if he falters slightly towards the end of the season, he always shines when the team is in the most trouble.
Choi Hyung-woo is already likely to become the greatest FA in the history of the KIA Tigers club since the advent of FA, thanks to his performance so far. He is incredibly consistent. Choi Hyung-woo's value is a total of 2.2 billion won for two years. He signed a 1+1 year contract for 2 billion won with an option of 200 million won two years ago.
Choi Hyung-woo, who joined the Samsung Lions in 2002, transferred to his hometown team KIA at the end of 2016, signing a four-year contract worth 10 billion won (4 billion won signing bonus, 1.5 billion won annual salary) and officially opened the '10 billion won FA era' in the KBO League. At the end of 2020, Choi Hyung-woo regained FA status and stayed with KIA with a three-year contract worth 4.7 billion won (1.3 billion won signing bonus, 900 million won annual salary, 700 million won option). After transferring to KIA, except for around 2021 and 2022, Choi Hyung-woo has consistently performed his role every season.
Especially in 2023, he led the team alone, earning the nickname "Choi Hyung-woo and the kids." The walk-off three-run homer against Samsung's Lee Seung-hyun in Gwangju or the pinch-hit grand slam against LG's Park Myung-keun in Gwangju still linger in the fans' memories.
Last year, Choi Hyung-woo was also remarkable. He reached the 100 RBI mark for the first time in four years since 2020. Above all, he ran as the RBI leader until the middle of the season, aiming for the RBI king title. Although he couldn't achieve that due to physical limitations, he played a significant role in KIA's integrated championship.
But this year, he is the batting king. Born in December 1983, Choi Hyung-woo, at the age of 41 years and 5 months, is batting .335, ranking second in batting average, showcasing his resilience. The batting leader is Samsung Lions' Kim Sung-yoon, with a .339 average. If Choi Hyung-woo wins the batting title, he will break the record of the oldest batting champion set by LG Twins' Lee Byung-kyu, the second team manager, at 38 years and 11 months in 2013.




Choi Hyung-woo is continuing his consistent batting form, recording hits in 12 consecutive games recently. Especially in May, he is on an upward trend, recording a high batting average of .412.
In this year's batting category, besides Choi Hyung-woo, Yang Eui-ji (37, Doosan Bears) is third with a .326 average, and Son Ah-seop (37, NC Dinos) is fourth with a .322 average, with veteran players making it to the top ranks.
In the past, in 2022, Lee Dae-ho of the Lotte Giants competed for the '40s batting king' until the end of the season but finished fourth with a .331 average, ending it regretfully.
Of course, not many baseball fans think Choi Hyung-woo will win the batting title. It's evident that he will face physical limitations when the summer heat continues. Moreover, the team's situation does not allow for comfortable management of Choi Hyung-woo. But regardless of the records, Choi Hyung-woo's true value always appears when the team is in trouble. It was the same two years ago, last year, and this year. Even if he doesn't win a title, that's why he is loved by KIA fans.




jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il reporter