SSG Landers’ Choi Ji-hoon (27) gained confidence at the plate after hitting a single against Los Angeles Dodgers’ Bobby Miller (25).
Choi went 2-for-3 with a double, three runs scored, and a walk in the season opener against the Lotte Giants of the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League 2024 at SSG Landers Field in Incheon, South Korea. SSG went on to win 5-3 behind Choi’s performance.
Choi, who joined SK (now SSG) in the third round (30th overall) of the 2020 Rookie Draft, has shown improvement year after year and had a career-high season in 2022, when he batted over .300. Last season, however, he had a down year, batting .268 (124-for-462) with two home runs, 30 RBIs, 65 runs scored, 21 doubles, and a .672 OPS in 117 games.
Choi, who came into the season desperate, was a force on the offensive side of the ball from the opening game. At the plate, he had three RBIs and three runs scored, and on defense, he caught a home-run attempt by Jeon Jun-woo. 토토사이트 In the seventh inning, after reaching second base on a walk and a wild pitch, Choi showed off his quick feet by scoring the game-winning run on Choi’s infield single.
In a postgame interview, Choi said, “On the last run, both the first base coach and I were late. The coach said that he gave the stop sign a little late, and I was also late in my judgment. If the outfielder had caught it, I would have lost the game, but it went to home, so when I saw the video later, I was scared to death. I think I got a little lucky from the first day and I’m happy to start the season on a good note.”
Regarding Jun-woo Jeon’s batting,
Choi Ji-hoon said, “I think his bat is flying differently than last year. I talked about it with Eredia. I’m cautious, but I think the bounce is a little higher. Whether we’re hitting or fielding, it seems to be flying better than it used to. There was some wind today, so I’m not sure, but I didn’t expect it to go that way,” he said.
Choi, who played for Team Korea in the MLB World Tour Seoul Series Special Game against the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, hit a 98.9-mile-per-hour (159.2-kilometer-per-hour) fastball off Dodgers starter Bobby Miller in the first game of the series on April 18.
“I think it helped that I had a good experience before the season started,” Choi said of his performance in the Seoul Series. “It was two games that gave me confidence in myself. When will I ever hit a 100-mph (160.9-kilometer) ball again, and I think it affected my at-bat today,” Choi said, adding that he took a positive outlook.
Lotte starter Aaron Wilkerson showed off his strong stuff, striking out eight batters. His fastball topped out at 147 kilometers. However, Choi Ji-hoon was able to get a light hit off Wilkerson. “It’s a problem that it won’t last long, but I definitely felt more comfortable at the plate,” Choi said. “Of course, I’m not saying that Wilkerson can’t throw, 안전한 파워볼사이트 but I think I felt more comfortable at the plate because there’s a big difference in velocity from the major league pitchers I saw in the Seoul Series. Thanks to that, I could only hit my pitches,” he laughed.
