SOUTH KOREA – Samsung Lions slugger Yang Joon-hyuk hit career home run number 340 on Tuesday night to to tie him with former Hanwha Eagles great Jang Jong-hoon for the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) all-time home record.

Yang drilled a 2-2 pitch off Hanwha right-hander Ahn Young-myung into the right-field bleachers in the opening frame of a 7-5 loss. The solo shot was the first long ball that the 17-year veteran, who was plagued by ankle injuries last season, has hit in almost seven months.

KBO HOME RUN KINGS
340 – Jang Jong-hoon
340 – Yang Joon-hyuk
328 – Shim Chong-soo
324 – Lee Seung-yeop

The 39-year-old debuted in the KBO in 1993 with the Lions, and cracked his first home run in his third game. He joins Jang, Lee Seung-yeop (Japan) and Shim Chong-soo (retired) as the only league players in the elite 300-homer club.

The left-handed power hitter is also the all-time leader in hits (2,207), doubles (437), total bases (3,714), RBIs (1,323), walks (1,286), at-bats (6,962) and runs (1,241).

Hanwha Eagles Veteran Hurler Reaches 3,000 Innings Milestone

Hanwha Eagles veteran right-hander Song Jin-woo recently became the first pitcher in the history of the KBO to reach the magical 3000th innings milestone. He debuted in the KBO as a reliever in 1989 with the Eagles who were then sponsored by Bingrae.

The 43-year old pitcher, who is currently in his 21st KBO season, best season was in 1992 when he racked up 191 1/3 innings and finished the season 19-8 with 17 saves in 48 appearances. In 2002, he set a career mark for innings pitched with 220 while finishing with a 18-7 record over 31 starts.

Song registered his 2000th career strikeout in 2008, and has compiled a record of 210-153 with 103 saves during his illustious career with the Eagles franchise.

Tags: South Korea