"I'm 44 years old, but why is Samsung the favorite?" Choi Hyung-woo's question, director Park Jin-man answered "steady." [Okinawa Station]

*This content was translated by AI.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Choi Hyung-woo (43) expressed his interest in the baseball evaluation of the Samsung Lions as the favorite to win his joining.

Choi Hyung-woo met with reporters after 2026 Samsung Spring Camp training at Akama Ball Park in Onnason, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on the 22nd and asked back, "What's wrong with you?" The reporters' question was how they felt about Samsung being considered a favorite this year with the addition of Choi Hyung-woo.

In December last year, Choi Hyung-woo signed a two-year FA contract of up to 2.6 billion won and returned to his former team Samsung. Choi's transfer was the hottest potato this winter. At first, I was surprised that the transfer, which I had never expected, was made. However, expectations for Samsung, which quickly emerged as a favorite to win the Korean Series due to its powerful power, heated up the rest of the winter.

Experts selected Samsung as a strong favorite this year because it was considered the end of the steadily growing young lion corps. Choi Hyung-woo marked a batting average of 0.307 (144 hits in 469 at-bats) with 24 home runs, 86 RBIs and 74 points, and an on-base percentage of 0.399 slugging percentage of 0.529 in 133 regular season games last year. The OPS, which combines on-base percentage and slugging percentage, was 0.928, ranking fifth in the league.

Even before joining Choi Hyung-woo, experts did not hesitate to pick him as the favorite because he was the No. 1 hitter in the team's home run (161) and No. 1 in the team's OPS (0.780). Yeom Kyung-yeop, manager of the LG Twins, the winner of last year's Korean Series, also agreed with experts. Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop met with reporters at the club's New Year's greeting this year and said, "Samsung is the best prepared." The four starters are not bad, and the batting is better than ours," he cautioned.

However, Choi Hyung-woo does not seem to realize yet whether his joining is that helpful. Choi Hyung-woo said, "Of course, we can win the championship by thinking that we are the favorites. But when the outside suddenly said that, everyone wondered, 'What is it?' and 'It's amazing.'

"There are many players who have transferred for more money than I have. Then I understand that the team's power has improved, but I don't understand why Samsung became a favorite when I came here at the age of 44. Of course, Samsung will win the championship," he said.

Coincidentally, the same question was asked to director Park Jin-man a few minutes before the interview with Choi Hyung-woo. The response of the head coach was different from that of the player. He was calm and clear. This is thanks to the fact that he directly led Samsung last year and felt the good and disappointing parts. Recently, Samsung is called a team that is expected to be this year from last year and next year from this year.

While walking through the dark ages due to postseason failures for five consecutive years, prospects who have accumulated one after another quickly settled in the first division. As young players were the main players, the momentum was penetrating the sky when they went well. But when I was in a slump, I pierced underground.

He won five consecutive games, six consecutive wins, and seven consecutive wins, but it was Samsung in 2025 that collapsed with two five consecutive losses and one eight consecutive losses. Coach Park Jin-man said, "We're happy to be a favorite thanks to Choi Hyung-woo. Last year, we had many difficult situations. I won a lot of consecutive games, but I also lost a lot of consecutive games."

Choi Hyung-woo was judged to be a player who could put a brake on the quagmire of the losing streak. Choi Hyung-woo is the epitome of KBO's consistency, achieving double-digit home runs for 18 consecutive years from 2008, the first full-time season, to last year. And players who have maintained their top skills for a long time at such a high level are counted in their hands.

Coach Park Jin-man said, "The players in the lineup now need more experience to overcome the pressure when they are still in a losing streak." "When the central lineup is not good, Choi Hyung-woo has a lot of experience to overcome such pressure. I'm looking forward to it because I'm able to do that. If Choi Hyung-woo holds it from the center, players such as Kim Young-woong and Lee Jae-hyun can enter the batter's box with a little pressure and produce good results. In that sense, Choi Hyung-woo's entry into our lineup is a big plus factor, he stressed.

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*This content was translated by AI.