Full 11 billion guaranteed → The worst slump in career, but again, the KBO record is seen for the first time

Aug 31, 2025

Full 11 billion guaranteed → The worst slump in career, but again, the KBO record is seen for the first time
SSG 최정. Photo =SSG Landers



Finally, will the "Home Run King" come back to life. Twenty home runs are seen by driving home runs. Two more, it's the first record in KBO history.

SSG Landers Choi Jeong's home run came to life. Choi Jung-eun hit a home run in almost a month against the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on Aug. 24. Choi Jung-eun, who had no home run for more than three weeks since the Kiwoom Heroes match on July 30, tasted his hands for the first time in a long time.

Choi Jung, who suffered the worst hitting slump since his debut due to large and small injuries this year. Just before the opening of the regular season, he suffered a right hamstring injury during defensive training and suffered from aftereffects even after returning to the game in the first half. Due to the nature of muscle injuries, the performance was also naturally low as the situation was repeated in which the area was bound to be concerned even if the injury was recovered.




It was the first season after signing the FA contract, so I had a hard time. Choi Jung signed a third FA contract with SSG, his original team, for a total of 11 billion won for four years after the end of last year's season. Full guarantee of 11 billion won without a separate option. This is how special the SSG club gives Choi Jung. It was symbolic to provide a full guarantee of 11 billion won without a safety device to a player in his late 30s and now looking at 40. It was a condition that Choi Jeong's shoulders became heavy.

Throughout this season, Choi Jeong recorded batting performances in the 190s and early 20s. This is the first time since his professional debut. There is an image of 'Geopo', but in fact, Choi's advantage is that it is possible to produce hits at any time depending on the situation. He is a batter who can hit more than 30 home runs while hitting .300. However, this year, the company recorded below expectations in all categories.

Full 11 billion guaranteed → The worst slump in career, but again, the KBO record is seen for the first time
The game between SSG Landers and LG Twins at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 17th. SSG third baseman Choi Jung is lost in thought. Incheon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.17/
Choi Jeong's batting began to rise little by little in August, and he has hit three home runs in the last two games. On August 29, he hit his 18th home run of the season against Riley Thompson, the opposing starter, who was also blocked the next day, against the NC Dinos in Incheon.




On this day, the SSG lineup failed to attack Riley and scored only one run in six innings, and the only one was Choi Jung's solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

With Choi hitting four home runs in the last six games, there are now only two left on 20 home runs. Choi Jeong, who holds the KBO record for most home runs, has already set a double-digit home run record for the first time in 20 consecutive seasons in the game against Hanwha in Incheon on June 27 this year. In other words, he broke the KBO's first double-digit home run record for 19 consecutive seasons last year, extending his new record for one more season. It is also a milestone that no one can overcome for the time being.

Full 11 billion guaranteed → The worst slump in career, but again, the KBO record is seen for the first time
사진=SSG 랜더스
On top of that, Choi Jeong's home run, which had been slowing down, has recently been restarted, and it is now close to the record of 20 home runs for the first 10 consecutive seasons in the KBO. A milestone that Lee Seung-yeop couldn't achieve. Choi Jung also started to break consecutive season records after 20 consecutive home runs were stopped with 14 home runs in the 2014 season and 17 home runs in the 2015 season, and 40 home runs in the 2016 season.




He also hit 37 home runs last year, surpassing 20 home runs for nine consecutive seasons, and if he reaches 20 home runs this year, he will set the KBO record for the first time. The previous record was 2012-2022 between Choi Jeong and Tyin Park Byung-ho (Samsung), with 20 home runs for nine consecutive seasons. Park Byung-ho has unfortunately stopped recording 20 home runs in consecutive seasons with 18 home runs in the 2023 season. Now, if Choi Jung adds more than two this year, he will break the tie record and lead the first time.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.