There’s no doubt that he was a great hitter in the KBO, as he played eight seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball League from 2004 to 2011, well into his prime, and still managed to keep his KBO stats in check. If he had played eight seasons in the KBO without going to Japan, he would have definitely hit over 500 home runs in his career, and given his pace, 700 home runs would have been possible. In fact, Lee’s career record in Korea and Japan is 626 home runs. His RBIs and runs scored are also likely to be well over 2,000, a record that no one has ever surpassed. His 2,842 career hits in Korea and Japan also likely exceed 3,000.
Thanks to Lee’s eight years in Japan,메이저놀이터 his younger players have had the opportunity to surpass his KBO career records, and they are doing so one by one.
Kia’s Choi Hyung-woo (40), who was part of the “Samsung Dynasty” in the 2010s, matched Lee’s record with 1,498 career hits against the Gwangju NC on Nov. 17. Choi will be the first to reach the 1,500-hit plateau in the KBO, a milestone that even Lee Seung-yup hasn’t reached. As of Sept. 19, Choi has 3860 career RBIs, ranking third on the all-time list behind Lee and commentator Yang Jun-hyuk (3879), and if Choi, who has been “rejuvenated” with a .308 batting average, eight home runs, and 37 RBIs this season, continues his active career next year, he will likely surpass Lee’s total.
Lee’s career total is likely to be surpassed by SSG’s “boy wonder” Choi Jung (36) within this season. As of Sept. 19, Choi has scored 1328 runs in his career, 27 behind Lee. It’s a gap that could easily be overcome this season, making Lee’s all-time record for runs scored the second most likely to be broken after RBIs. Choi, who ranks second all-time with 443 career home runs, 24 behind Lee, is almost the only candidate to break Lee’s iconic career home run record. Park Byung-ho (37), who ranks second on the active list with 368 career home runs, is 99 behind Lee.
Assuming Choi, who has hit 14 home runs in 61 games this season through September 19, makes it to the end of the season without injury, we calculate that he could hit 18 more home runs if his current home run pace continues. If he keeps up his pace for the rest of the season, he could break Lee’s career home run record at the end of this season, or if he doesn’t, he could surpass Lee by hitting 468 early next season. From there, Choi will continue his quest to become the first player in KBO history to reach 500 home runs.
Choi also ranks fourth all-time in total bases (3781) and RBIs (1411). Born in 1987, Choi is four years younger than Choi Hyung-woo, who was born in 1983, and has many more years of active playing left in him, so even if he loses Lee’s record for total bases and RBIs to Choi, Choi will likely take the top spot on the all-time list.