"Let's just go for it" → Solo 4 wins in the Korea Series, 'Icon of Dedication' Choi Dong-won Selected as 2026 Republic of Korea Sports Hero... First Achievement for a Baseball Player

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The 'Icon of Dedication' and one of the greatest pitchers in the history of professional baseball, the late Choi Dong-won, has been selected as a Sports Hero who illuminated the Republic of Korea for the first time among baseball players.

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee announced on the 4th that it held its 5th Sports Hero Selection Committee meeting on the 27th of last month and, after deliberating on three final candidates (Park Joo-bong, the late Choi Dong-won, and Hwang Young-jo), selected the late Choi Dong-won as the 2026 Republic of Korea Sports Hero.

The late Hero Choi Dong-won secured four wins alone in the 1984 Korea Series, leading Lotte to its first championship in franchise history.

In that year, Choi Dong-won appeared in 51 games, taking responsibility for a whopping 284⅔ innings, and recorded 13 wins (6 losses), an ERA of 2.40, and 223 strikeouts. He pitched in five games and 40 innings in the Korea Series. At the time, Manager Kang Byung-chul deployed Choi Dong-won, his sure card, as the starting pitcher in Games 1, 3, 5, and 7. In response, Choi Dong-won calmly accepted with the words, "Horse, let's just go for it," and elevated Lotte to the top through a tear-jerking display of fighting spirit.

Additionally, as a national team member, he contributed to victories in the 1977 Intercontinental Cup and the 1982 World Baseball Championship, among other achievements, performing excellently on both domestic and international stages and contributing to the development of Korean baseball and the enhancement of national prestige.

In professional baseball, he recorded 103 wins, 26 saves, 1,019 strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.46 over a career spanning eight seasons with 248 appearances. After his retirement, he continued to contribute to the development of Korean baseball by working as a coach, commentator, game operations committee member for the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), and performance analyst for the national team.

The Republic of Korea Sports Hero is an institution that selects sports figures who have contributed to enhancing national prestige and the development of Korean sports through outstanding achievements and serve as role models for youth and active players. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee selects final candidates through nominations and reviews, then makes the final selection by the Sports Hero Selection Committee after comprehensively considering achievement evaluations and public support survey results.

Since Kim Seong-jip (weightlifting), the first Olympic medalist after the establishment of the Republic of Korea government in 2011, and Son Ki-jeong (marathon), the first Olympic gold medalist for the Korean ethnic group, recipients have emerged from various sports. In team ball sports, only Park Shin-ja, the 2015 Korean basketball hero, and Cha Bum-keun ('Cha Bum') in soccer in 2017 had received the award.

With this, Choi Dong-won has established himself as a hero who can be counted among the very first in baseball history. The fact that he was selected not just within the baseball community but across all of Korean sports further underscores its symbolic significance.

Yoo Seung-min, President of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, stated, "The late Hero Choi Dong-won is a legendary player who left a great footprint in the history of Korean baseball with his indomitable will and spirit of challenge," adding, "Through this Sports Hero selection, we hope that the achievements and spirit left by the deceased will be highlighted once again and serve as a great role model for players of future generations."

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee plans to hold an enshrinement ceremony for the Republic of Korea Sports Hero in December to honor the achievements and contributions of the late Hero Choi Dong-won.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original