Choi Won-joon fuels KT win with three hits and steal of home

Could this be what a generous free agent looks like? Professional baseball outfielder Choi Won-joon of the KT Wiz started in center field and leadoff for the team on the 8th at Suwon KT Wiz Park in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League season's 15th meeting with the SSG Landers, delivering a one-man show with three hits in four at-bats, one walk, one run and one stolen base to lead his team to a 3-1 victory and snap a three-game losing streak. Choi Won-joon, who opened the curtain on his three-hit show by facing Kim Gun-woo in the bottom of the first and hitting a single to left field with the score 0-0, later filled the bases with a clever infield hit in the bottom of the second with one out and runners on first and second while the score remained 0-0. After a full count, he made contact on Kim Gun-woo's seventh pitch, a 125km curve, and despite the mishit drove the ball and sprinted so fast that he touched first base before pitcher Kim Gun-woo, who had come to cover first base. Choi Won-joon passed second and reached third on a two-run go-ahead hit by the following hitter Ahn Hyun-min. Then, during Sam Hilliard's at-bat, baserunner Ahn Hyun-min tried to steal second, and taking advantage of that, Choi quickly stole home to add an insurance run. It was the go-ahead score created by Choi Won-joon's speed. Choi Won-joon did not stop there; in the bottom of the fourth with one out and a runner on first he hit a single to left field, achieving his first three-hit game in three weeks since the Aug. 16 game against the Suwon Kiwoom Heroes. Then in the bottom of the sixth with one out and a runner on first he drew a walk to finish with four times on base. Adding three more hits, Choi Won-joon raised his season batting average from .339 to .342 and continued the batting title race with Gu Ja-wook (Samsung Lions), Víctor Reyes (Lotte Giants) and Austin Dean (LG Twins). KT manager Lee Kang-cheol applauded after the game, saying, "We were able to score three runs and win thanks to Ahn Hyun-min's two-run hit and Choi Won-joon's smart baserunning." After graduating from Seoul High School, Choi Won-joon was selected by the KIA Tigers with the third pick in the first round of the second phase of the 2016 rookie draft and served as a one-club man before moving to the NC Dinos last July in a 3-for-3 trade. Choi finished the season disappointingly, unable to overcome the burden of being a prospective free agent, hitting .242 with six home runs, 44 RBIs and 62 runs in 126 games. When the stove league opened, Choi Won-joon exercised his free agent rights for the first time in his life. Contrary to experts' expectations that it would take considerable time to reach a new contract, he became a KT player last November under a four-year, maximum 4.8 billion won deal. He signed the contract that listed a 2.2 billion won signing bonus, 2.0 billion won in total salary and 0.6 billion won in incentives, finally earning the title of free agent outfielder. Of the 4.8 billion won, 4.2 billion won was guaranteed under a sensational condition. KT's signing of Choi Won-joon has been hailed as the Divine Move. He has led the Magicians' offense by hitting .342 with 163 hits, eight home runs, 62 RBIs, 97 runs, 25 stolen bases, a .466 slugging percentage, a .416 on-base percentage, an .882 OPS and a .333 batting average with runners in scoring position over 114 games this season. Except for the bottom of the second, KT struggled with severe empty hitting with runners in scoring position in every inning that day, but thanks to the strength of the mound and Choi Won-joon's two instances of savvy, whirlwind baserunning in the bottom of the second, they secured a precious victory. [OSEN]