"You're a good player" and "Don't overdo it" discouraged KT Choi Won-joon because of his strong support... He will also play again in three consecutive twists that gave up the game

*This content was translated by AI.

KT Wiz center fielder Choi Won-joon (29) played the left-handed right-handed home opener.

KT lost 1-2 to Samsung in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season home game held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 3rd.

It was the home opener after raising expectations with the opening five consecutive wins. 18,700 full-capacity spectators gathered and it was the first sell-out of the season. So this defeat was even more regrettable. While foreign starting pitchers from both teams were engaged in a tight pitching competition with quality starts (more than 6 innings and less than 3 earned runs), the game was decided by a small margin. The batters were silent by hitting double plays at every opportunity, and there were unrecorded errors in defense. The player who will be most depressed is center fielder Choi Won-joon.

Three disappointing defenses came out. It was Lee Jae-hyun, the leadoff hitter, at the top of the third inning with KT leading 1-0. At this time, Lee Jae-hyun's ball headed to the central fence. Choi Won-jun gave up a double without catching a hit that came over his head.

In the top of the sixth inning, he missed consecutive hits and gave up the winning run. First, Lewin Diaz's fastball flew over Choi Won-jun's head once again. Choi Won-joon attempted a jump catch instead of a fence play, but failed. In Ryu Ji-hyuk's at-bat, he stood a little more in front of him in anticipation of a single hit and missed it. However, the ball headed over Choi Won-jun's head once again and failed to catch by a single car. As the ball fell out, it became Ryu Ji-hyuk's timely triple.

It was not an easy hit all three times. The most difficult thing for most outfielders is the ball that comes over their heads. This is because it is not easy to calculate the drop point and the distance and collision with the fence must be expected. In fact, there are cases where you get seriously injured due to a strong collision with the fence. The deep regret was possible because of Choi Won-joon's efforts to make a hit that would naturally be a hit.

Manager Lee Kang-chul and KT members are rather supportive because they know Choi Won-jun who will blame himself more than anyone else. Before the game, coach Lee Kang-chul told the story when Choi Won-joon was recruited. Choi Won-joon joined KT on a four-year FA contract worth a total of 4.8 billion won ahead of this season. Last year's performance was not good with a batting average of 0.242 (100 hits in 413 at-bats), six homers, 44 RBIs and 26 steals, and an on-base percentage of 0.289 slugging percentage of 0.332, which was controversial overpayment.

However, the head coach had a different opinion. Manager Lee Kang-chul said, "(Choi) Won-jun is a player who has been good at KIA. A player with good experience is different. Then, I took a picture of the floor once, so I thought that if I came, I would be able to raise my skills unconditionally," he said with force.

"At first, everyone said they got paid a lot of money, so they went overboard to pay for it. So I recalled, "Don't overdo it, please don't try to do anything anymore," and just do what you can." The result of the burden was a hard hit that led to the opening five consecutive wins, including eight hits and five RBIs in three consecutive Hanwha games in Daejeon.

The same goes for the team to trust and support Choi Won-joon. Choi Won-jun is very shy in the baseball world, but he is known as a "too much talker" who becomes more talkative when he gets close. In particular, he is considered the most comfortable player to talk to among power analysis coaches due to his passion for baseball and high understanding. When he was a member of the Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu), he became a reliable teacher for his fellow athletes.

His meticulous personality shone even before the game. Choi Won-jun and his wife gave drinks to 130 club officials at his own expense for the opening game of the home game. However, he impressed not only the team but also the stadium management, security, beautification, ground management, and cafeteria managers.

Choi Won-joon said through the club, "We prepared a drink with gratitude to the stadium officials. "I also prepared with my wife because I thought that all KTs were on the same team and family," he said calmly.

"Even in last year's disappointing season, coaches and coaches welcomed me, calling me 'good players.' Other seniors also welcomed me well, which helped me a lot in adapting. In particular, Jang Sung-woo added, "Don't be satisfied because you are a more valuable player and have the ability."

Choi Won-joon, who was disappointed with a fly ball, a fly ball, and a ground ball on the day, crawled through the last at-bat in the eighth inning and continued his six-game hitting streak. Strong support is the reason why Choi Won-joon can play again even in situations where it can be shaken.

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*This content was translated by AI.