Lions veteran rejoices over outfield assist, big homer in KBO postseason win

By Yoo Jee-ho

DAEGU, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- At 42 years, 10 months and 11 days, Samsung Lions star Choi Hyoung-woo set a series of "oldest" postseason records Tuesday.

In the Lions' 8-3 win over the Kia Tigers in Game 2 of the second round at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, Choi became the oldest player in Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) history to play and record a hit, an RBI and a home run in a postseason game.

His solo shot in the bottom of the seventh extended his team's lead to 8-2, but Choi said his most memorable moment of the night came in the outfield, as he gunned down Harold Castro at second base in the sixth inning for an assist after fielding a towering flyball off the top of the fence in left.

The lumbering slugger played in left field for only the fourth time this year. He is usually the Lions' designated hitter (DH), but Koo Ja-wook, their usual starting left fielder, had to be the DH for Monday's Game 1 as he was just coming back from a hamstring injury and was not yet healthy enough to play in the outfield.

Manager Park Jin-man had an option of putting Choi in left field but ultimately chose not to risk defensive trouble with Choi.

But after the Lions only managed two hits in a 5-1 loss Monday, Park turned to Choi as his starting left fielder. In a pregame media session, Park said he wanted to prioritize offense, and he trusted Choi as a defender, too.

Choi delivered on both counts.

"The outfield assist felt 100 times better than the home run," Choi beamed afterward. "I wasn't actually trying to get the runner. I picked up the ball and threw it as soon as I could. And I absolutely couldn't believe how great the throw was. I was very lucky there."

Before the start of the series, Choi had joked about how he would have to deal with shaking legs if he were ever asked to play in left.

Turning serious Tuesday, Choi said: "Of course, there is always pressure. In a postseason series, a game can turn on one mistake."

Still, manager Park said he would keep using Choi in left the rest of this series as it shifts to the larger Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southwestern city of Gwangju.

"You saw how his play really fired up our bench," Park said with a smile. "That assist was a big momentum builder for us."

When told of the manager's plans, Choi smiled and said: "Maybe I should talk to him. I think he forgot we are moving to a bigger stadium."

Park said Choi and the rest of his big boppers did their job Tuesday. Koo delivered the go-ahead single before cleanup Lewin Diaz smacked a two-run homer as part of the four-run fourth inning.

"Our hitters are getting into their groove, and this should be a fun series," Park added.

Tigers manager Lee Bum-ho rued his batters' inability to get to starter Ariel Jurado while noting that his own starter, Adam Oller, fell apart in that fateful fourth inning.

"We gave up too many runs too early," Lee said. "I felt the starting pitching matchup was crucial in this one. Jurado pitched a great game, changing the eye levels of our hitters with fastballs and changeups. It is hard to get a hit off of him when he is on. And it was disappointing that we allowed those four runs with two outs in the fourth inning."

Lee also took a look at the big picture and said he was happy to get the split on the road.

"I think we did well to pick up at least a win on the road," he said. "We now have to get these two games behind us and put all our energy into winning the third game."