SSG Landers’ infielder Choi Jeong, a living legend of Korean baseball, has achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first player in KBO League history to reach 10,000 career plate appearances.
Choi reached the mark on May 10 during a regular-season game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. Starting as the third hitter and third baseman, he entered the game with 9,997 plate appearances and secured the record during his third at-bat in the top of the sixth inning.
This is an unprecedented achievement in the KBO. The second-place holder in this category is Choi Hyung-woo (Samsung Lions), followed by Kim Hyun-soo (KT Wiz), Son Ah-seop (Doosan), and Kang Min-ho (Samsung) in the top five.
Born in 1987, Choi was first selected by SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) in the 2005 draft and made his debut on May 7, 2005, against the LG Twins at Munhak Stadium. Over more than two decades, he has consistently performed at an elite level, earning widespread admiration from fans. He also leads the KBO all-time home run list with 527 career homers.
As of the seventh inning, SSG trailed Doosan 0-3.
Key milestones in Choi Jeong’s career at-bats:
- First plate appearance: May 7, 2005, vs. LG (pitcher: Choi Won-ho)
- 1,000th: May 10, 2008, vs. Samsung (pitcher: Jo Jin-ho)
- 2,000th: July 4, 2010, vs. Doosan (pitcher: Les Walrond)
- 3,000th: June 27, 2012, vs. Samsung (pitcher: Jung Hyun-wook)
- 4,000th: July 24, 2014, vs. Doosan (pitcher: Jung Jae-hoon)
- 5,000th: Aug. 31, 2016, vs. KIA (pitcher: Hector Noesi)
- 6,000th: Aug. 16, 2018, vs. LG (pitcher: Cha Woo-chan)
- 7,000th: July 30, 2020, vs. LG (pitcher: Lim Chan-kyu)
- 8,000th: May 28, 2022, vs. KIA (pitcher: Lee Eui-ri)
- 9,000th: May 1, 2024, vs. Hanwha (pitcher: Kim Kyu-yeon)
- 10,000th: May 10, 2026, vs. Doosan (pitcher: Jack Rog)
