"I really like (Choi) Hyung-woo, but I wished he hadn't hit..." Even after going 4-for-4 with 4 RBIs, the race for first place in the "2.5G gap" from the Samsung game is something KT cannot ignore. [Suwon Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

Choi Won-jun (29) had completed everything he needed to do with 4 hits and 4 RBIs, yet he could not rest easily. Before the defense in the top of the 8th inning, he was substituted for Yoo Jun-kyu and rushed to the locker room, where a guest was already waiting.

On the 19th at Suwon KT Wiz Park, Choi Won-jun started as the leadoff hitter and center fielder against Doosan Bears in a 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League home game. He went 4-for-4 with 1 home run, 1 walk, 4 RBIs, and 1 run scored, leading KT to a decisive 15-3 victory.

Choi Won-jun was at the center of the overwhelming win. In the bottom of the 5th inning with one out and a runner on first base while trailing 1-3, he smashed Choi Seung-yong's slider for a two-run home run to tie the game, traveling 126.7 meters to deep left-center field. It was his 9th home run of the season. When KT scored five runs in the 6th inning, he added an RBI double to left-center field, and in the 7th inning, he hit another RBI double. After the game, when meeting reporters, Choi Won-jun humbly said, "I was lucky. A mistake pitch came in, and a home run came out in a crucial situation, so I'm glad."

Thanks to this, KT maintained sole first place with 77 wins, 4 draws, and 47 losses, holding a 2.5-game lead over second-place Samsung Lions (76 wins, 3 draws, 51 losses). Although their seven-game winning streak was broken by a heavy 1-12 loss to LG Twins the previous day (the 18th), they turned the mood around in just one day. After the game, KT Manager Lee Kang-cheol (60) specifically praised Choi Won-jun's performance, saying, "I want to commend Choi Won-jun for doing his job whenever RBIs were needed."

Even before his own game ended, Choi Won-jun's attention was already directed elsewhere. Given the fierce race for first place, it was not easy to ignore the results of opposing games. Choi Won-jun revealed, "As soon as I left the game, I immediately checked the Samsung game." He then added with an awkward smile, "We just need to win, but can we win every day? The seniors were all checking ahead of time."

Coincidentally, a welcome face appeared in Samsung's final opportunity that he was watching. In the top of the 9th inning with two outs and runners on first and second base while trailing 3-5, Choi Hyung-woo (43·Samsung) stepped up to the plate. He was a senior who had spent nine years together at his former team, but this time, his feelings watching him were somewhat complicated.

Choi Won-jun said, "At that moment, Senior (Choi) Hyung-woo was at bat. It was a crucial situation, and although I really like him as a senior, I thought, 'I wish he wouldn't hit.'" He then immediately confessed his honest feelings, saying, "But I shouldn't think that. He is a senior I respect so much, yet I secretly thought that."

Choi Hyung-woo swung and missed at Eimura Shota's slider for a strikeout, and the game ended as it was. For KT, it was a day where they secured an overwhelming win just one day after their loss, followed by Samsung's defeat. However, the KT team is not chasing the standings every single day.

Choi Won-jun explained, "In fact, which player wouldn't want to be first? It's a sensitive time for everyone, so players are careful with their words, and coaches also show consideration by deliberately avoiding talking too much about that part." He also emphasized, "I feel no impatience at all. We just need to do our best in what we can do. We cannot control the results."

Even when they collapsed 1-12 the previous day due to unbelievable consecutive errors by veterans, the mood did not change significantly. Choi Won-jun conveyed, "I told Senior (Woo) Gyu-min, Senior (Kim) Hyun-soo, Senior (Heo) Kyung-min, Senior (Kim) Sang-su, etc., that we just need to win tomorrow. We might lose or win, so let's do our best in the plays we can control."

He continued, "Whether it is a winning streak or a losing streak, our team does not show much difference in atmosphere. Anyone can make mistakes, and if someone makes a mistake, another player can cover for them; that is our team."

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*This content was translated by AI.