"Rayes Chases Batting Title, Holds Edge Over Choi Won-jun with More Games Remaining" — Venezuelan Media Rally in Support

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The enthusiasm in his home country for the KBO League hit race of Venezuelan-born foreign player Victor Rayes (32, Lotte Giants) is also running hot. Although he ceded the top spot by a single hit to face new rival Choi Won-jun (29, KT Wiz), domestic media have sent their passionate support, noting that the remaining game schedule favors Rayes.

Venezuelan sports outlet "El Emergente" reported on the 8th (Korean time), "Rayes updated his career-high hit record from 202 to 203 hits, but he has now faced another rival in Korea, Choi Won-jun," focusing on the intensified race for the batting title heading into the season's final stretch.

On the 7th, Rayes recorded a multi-hit game against the KIA Tigers, reaching his 203rd hit of the season. Following an infield hit in the fifth inning, he added another hit in the ninth, surpassing Seo Geon-chang's (then Nexen Heroes) 201 hits from 2014 and breaking his own previous record of 202 hits.

However, a variable emerged in his solo lead. Choi Won-jun, who has risen as a strong contender, hit three hits on the same day to reach 204 hits for the season, overtaking Rayes by one hit to take sole command of the hit race. The outlet expressed caution, stating, "The player known as Choi Won-jun is having the best season of his career with a .355 batting average, .433 on-base percentage, and .485 slugging percentage for an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .918."

Nevertheless, the outlet predicted a higher likelihood of Rayes reclaiming the title. This is due to his advantage in "remaining games." El Emergente noted, "Still, Rayes holds a slight advantageous position compared to Choi Won-jun," adding, "Rayes has four games remaining, including two against the LG Twins, one against the KIA Tigers, and one against the Doosan Bears, while Choi Won-jun has only two games left against the Samsung Lions." By pointing this out, they analyzed that Rayes has twice as many opportunities to produce hits given his lead in the number of games.

Attention is now on whether Rayes, who is writing a historic record of 203 hits by surpassing his own limits, can secure the batting title by making the most of the greater number of remaining opportunities he has compared to Choi Won-jun, backed by the solid support of media in his home country.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original