By Sang-jin Oh The ‘home run factory’ Choi Jung (36-SSG Landers) is back. The battle for the home run crown with rejuvenated slugger Noh Si-hwan (23-Hanwha Eagles) is just beginning.

SSG reinstated Choi to the first team roster on the 21st, the first day of the second half. Choi finished the first half of the season after playing the last five days. He missed the rest of the season with a left adductor muscle injury and was ruled out of the All-Star Game.

Choi led the league in home runs through June with 19, but he was limited to 10 at-bats in three games in July when he was sidelined by injury and didn’t add a single home run. In the meantime, Noh picked up his pace and hit four home runs in seven games in July to overtake Choi and finish the first half tied for the home run lead.

Choi and Noh will be battling for multiple titles in the second half. In addition to the home run lead, Noh is closing in on Choi in several other categories, including RBIs (58 for Choi, 57 for Noh and Austin), slugging percentage (0.577 for Choi, 0.560 for Noh), and OPS (0.973 for Choi, 0.958 for Noh).온라인카지노

Noh shares a right-handed batting lineage with “Living Legend” Choi Jeong, and coincidentally, plays third base. His performance in the second half of the season will determine his chances of winning various batting titles and the Golden Glove for third base. In the first half, Noh (4.53) led Choi (3.81) in batting WAR for third basemen (per STATIZ).

Choi, batting third and designated hitter in the opening game of the second half, will attempt to reach the 20-homer plateau for the eighth consecutive season against the LG Twins at home. Noh Si-hwan, who already broke the record for most home runs in a career in the first half (18 in 2021), will bat third against the NC Dinos at home in Daejeon and attempt to reach the 20-homer plateau for the first time in his career.