I played the drums, I played the sticks, I did everything by myself. If it was an offense, it was an offense, if it was a defense, it was a defense, if it was a base, it was a base, there was nothing he couldn’t do.

LG Twins’ Hong Chang-ki (29) went 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs scored in the team’s home game against SSG Landers in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Saturday. He led his team to victory with a strong performance in the field.먹튀검증

Hong made his presence felt right from the start of the game. Stepping up to bat in the top of the first inning, he almost got a head shot from the first pitch. SSG starter Oh Won-seok’s 140-kilometer fastball slipped out of his hand and flew toward his head, and he barely avoided it, falling to the ground in surprise. 

The first pitch could have rattled him, but he remained calm. He stole his 20th base of the season with a single to left field. Shin Min-jae and Kim Hyun-soo followed with back-to-back infield singles to score the first run. The formula of LG winning when Hong Chang-ki walks and then scores proved to be true again today.

In the bottom of the fifth inning with a 1-0 lead, Hong hit a run-scoring single with two outs. He then came home on a single by Kim Hyun-soo. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Hong’s performance continued. With the bases loaded, he doubled and scored on Shin Min-jae’s single. 

From there, LG went on a scorching run with Hong Chang-ki at the helm, tearing up the SSG mound with 15 hits in a 10-4 victory. With the win, LG moved to 72 wins, two draws and 47 losses, extending their lead over second-place KT to six games and taking a step closer to the top spot in the regular season.

Meanwhile, leadoff hitter Hong Chang-ki, who leads the LG offense, has been having an MVP-like performance this season. He pounded out three hits in the game, raising his batting average to 0.340 to overtake NC’s Son Asub (0.339) as the league’s batting leader. He also drove in three runs to take over the league lead in runs scored from Kiwoom’s Kim Hye-sung (97) with 99 on the season. Her 0.454 slugging percentage is well ahead of second-place Yang Yang-ji (0.412). 

In 120 games, Hong is batting .340 (1st), 154 hits (3rd), 62 RBI (1st), 99 runs (1st), 20 doubles (8th), 78 walks (1st), 0.454 slugging percentage (1st), 0.882 OPS (4th), and 5.57 WAR (2nd), and is on pace to win the trifecta of batting average, slugging percentage, and runs scored.

LG has never had a player win the triple crown before, with Lee Byung-kyu winning the title in 2001 (runs scored, most hits) and 2005 (RBI), and current KBSN sports commentator Park Yong-taek winning the title in 2005 (runs scored, stolen bases). 

This season, Hong Chang-ki is attempting to become the first player in franchise history to win the triple crown. LG hasn’t had a batting champion in 18 years since Lee Byung-kyu and Park Yong-taek in 2005, and the first to do so is Dr. Hong, the god of Twins baseball.