Hanwha Eagles’ Chae Eun-sung (33) won the home run race for the first time since her debut.

Chae hit five home runs to win the home run race at the 2023 KBO League Futures All-Star Game at Sajik Stadium in Busan on April 14. She also shared the top distance award (130 meters) with Park Dong-won (LG).

In 74 games this season, Chae is batting .291 (84-for-289) with 11 home runs, 47 RBIs and an .820 OPS, and is tied for sixth in the league in home runs. However, she put on one of the most dominant performances of the day in the home run race, beating out some of the top hitters in the league, including Noh Si-hwan (Hanwha), the league’s home run leader, and last season’s home run king, Park Byung-ho (KT).

“I didn’t expect to win at all. It was more about participation,” said Chae Eun-sung, “I thought (Noh) Shihwan would win. When I see him in practice, his distance is no joke. I’m not the type of person who doesn’t hit home runs in practice, so I thought he would win, but he was a little rushed. I told him not to hit zero home runs when he came in, but just one, and (Yoo) Gangnam hit the ball well.” Unlike Chae Eun-sung’s five home runs, Noh didn’t hit a single home run.

Park Byung-ho hasn’t had a great home run pace this season, with just seven homers. However, in the home run race, he showed the power of last year’s home run king with four home runs in the first inning. Chae Eun-sung acknowledged Park’s power, saying, “When I saw him hit at first, I thought I had to be satisfied with the runner-up spot because his batting speed was different and his pace was so good.”카지노사이트

Chae Eun-sung chose Yoo Kang-nam (Lotte), who played with her at LG, to pitch batting practice. “I asked him to pitch the batting ball myself,” Chae Eun-sung said, “but he said he had experience, so I told him to just do it. When we practiced indoors, everyone was shaking their heads at Kangnam. I didn’t choose to do it, and I’m close with Kangnam, so I just said, ‘Let’s do it,’ and it turned out well.” Chae Eun-sung was rewarded for her loyalty to Yoo Kang-nam by winning the Home Run Race.

However, she was adamant about the prize money. Chae Eun-sung, who received 5 million won in prize money for winning the home run race, a Standby Me GO, and a Galaxy Tab 8 for winning the distance prize, said, “Kangnam talked about splitting it in half, but I think we should try to coordinate again. I don’t split it in half even with my wife. Since I suffered more, I should take more,” she laughed.