First-ever pair of 200-hit seasons: Choi Won-jun and Reyes clash, one hit shy of the new hits record

[Financial News] As the KBO League regular season neared its close, professional baseball produced a host of major milestones. KT Wiz's Choi Won-jun and the Lotte Giants' Víctor Reyes became the first pair ever to surpass 200 hits in a single season, standing level at 201, while the Kia Tigers' Kim Do-young hit his 43rd home run and moved to cement his hold on the home run title.

Choi Won-jun and Reyes each reached the 200-hit mark on the 6th, then added one more hit to finish level at 201 for the season. It is the first time in the KBO League's 45-year history that two batters have recorded 200 hits in a single season.
Choi Won-jun started as the leadoff hitter against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome. He reached 200 hits with a double in the top of the third, then picked up a single to right in the top of the fourth to make it 201. This is only the third 200-hit season in KBO history, and the first by a Korean player in 12 years, since Seo Geon-chang recorded 201 hits in 2014. After the game, Choi said, "I really want to break the record of Seo Geon-chang, whom I've admired since I was young," adding, "My remaining goals are to win the Korean Series and the KBO Golden Glove Award."
KT, which had already clinched the regular-season title, routed Kiwoom 10-1 that day to extend its winning streak to seven games.

That same day, Lotte's Reyes reached 200 hits with a single in the bottom of the fourth against the Doosan Bears at Sajik, then made it 201 with his 17th home run of the season, a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth. Reyes, who owns the KBO single-season hits record with 202 hits in 2024, became the first player in the league to record 200 hits in two different seasons.
As a result, both Choi Won-jun and Reyes are now just one hit away from breaking the KBO League record for most hits in a season, the 202-hit mark held by Reyes.


In Gwangju, the Kia Tigers' Kim Do-young hit a three-run homer in the third inning against the Samsung Lions, bringing his season total to 43. With home runs on consecutive days, Kim widened his lead to two over joint second-place hitters Austin Dean (LG Twins) and Sam Hilliard (KT Wiz), both with 41, moving a step closer to the first home run title of his career. The Kia Tigers, however, suffered a 5-4 comeback loss to Samsung after their bullpen faltered.

At Jamsil, the LG Twins beat the NC Dinos 6-1 to snap a grueling eight-game losing streak. Austin's go-ahead three-run homer in the first inning, his 41st of the season, and Moon Bo-gyeong's solo shot, his 10th, were followed by Song Chan-ui's 16th homer, which sealed the win in the sixth. Third-place Kia, which lost that day, and fourth-place LG, which won, remain dead even in games behind, with their winning percentages—0.5474 for Kia and 0.5468 for LG—differing only marginally in a fiercely close race.

After reaching base in the second inning, LG's Park Hae-min stole second for his 40th steal of the season, becoming the fourth player in KBO history, after Jeon Jun-ho, Lee Jong-beom and Lee Dae-hyung, to reach the milestone of 500 career stolen bases.


Doosan beat Lotte 3-1 in their game at Sajik, helped by Kim Min-seok's RBI single in the top of the ninth, and held on to fifth place. Doosan ace Kwak Bin delivered a superb outing, allowing one run and striking out 11 over six innings. He reclaimed the season strikeout lead with 197 and lowered his ERA to 2.24, moving to solidify his hold on first place.
In Daejeon, ninth-place Hanwha Eagles pounded out 11 hits, including Roh Si-hwan's 28th home run, to crush sixth-place SSG Landers 9-2.
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