The unstoppable Choi Hyung-woo, 40, broke out of his slump.
Choi Hyung-woo started in left field and went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and two walks in a 13-3 victory over the NC Dinos at NC Park in Changwon on Saturday.
Choi sparked the offense in the first inning. Choi came to the plate with a 1-0 lead on a single by Na Sung-beom. With runners on first and second, he took a 134-kilometer forkball from NC starter Song Myung-ki and blasted it over the left-center field fence for a three-run home run. His 12th home run of the season. It was his first home run in eight games since his SSG multi-homer game on June 6. After Choi’s homer, Socrates’ back-to-back homers set the stage for the big win. For Choi, whose batting average was 2-for-3 in July, the home run could be the trigger for a rebound.
After the game, Choi said, “I’m not feeling good lately, so I told him to hit it to the center. Earlier today, (I) Sung-beom scored a run, so I thought I’d take it easy and just hit it to the center, but it worked out.” He added, “Actually, I can’t keep my feelings steady. When I was younger, good things kept coming, but now I have to start from zero base again tomorrow. I think it’s because I’m getting older,” he said.
He continued, “I can’t help it if it’s hard. You have to make it a routine and find it every day. If I don’t want to do it, I have to stay still,” he said, adding, “Every morning when I wake up, I tell myself that I’m going to try harder.”
He’s a living legend, having broken most of the hitting records in the 안전놀이터 KBO. But he still wants to win and play in the fall. “Every day is disappointing. I want to win every day,” he said, lamenting the passage of time.
The team is still in seventh place, but with a tightly packed mid-table, a winning streak could propel them higher. Choi believes in Kia’s potential. He’s confident. He made the decision to bring in new foreign pitchers Mario Sanchez and Thomas Pannoni, and acquired catcher Kim Tae-gun via trade.
Choi said, “Our team is capable of finishing third. I think we can do it once we get a chance,” Choi said, adding, “We got some good foreign pitchers. Not to mention the catcher, we have a catcher who fits our team perfectly, and our injured players are back. I think our team is as good as any team. As long as we can synergize and have a little bit of explosion, we can keep winning.”