After winning the home run race on Thursday with five home runs, Hanwha’s Chae Eun-sung showed off her hot bat in the main All-Star Game with a grand slam. Her three-run home run in the first inning put the brakes on Socrates (KIA), who was leading the MVP race, and made her a strong MVP candidate.
Chae Eun-sung started the 2023 KBO 메이저사이트 All-Star Game at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Friday as the No. 3 hitter and first baseman for the Nanum All-Stars. In her first at-bat in the first inning, Chae set the tone with a timely double that brought in Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom) from first base, and in her second at-bat in the third inning, Chae retired on an infield fly.
In the fourth inning, the Nanum All-Stars loaded the bases with back-to-back singles by Park Gun-woo (NC) and Park Dong-won (LG) and a walk by Lee Jung-hoo two batters later, and Chae Eun-sung stepped to the plate for the third time. When Dream All-Star Koo Seung-min (Lotte) drove a 141-kilometer-per-hour fastball up the middle, she lifted it over the left field fence for a grand slam. Chae Eun-sung’s grand slam made it 8-0 in favor of the Nanum All-Stars.
This is only the second time in history that a KBO All-Star Game has featured a walk-off home run. The first All-Star Game grand slam was hit by Kim Yong-hee (then of Lotte) at Dongdaemun Stadium in 1982, the first year of professional baseball. With that home run, Kim was named the first Mr. All-Star.
After winning the home run race the day before, Chae Eun-sung emerged as a strong MVP candidate with her one-hit wonder. By the fifth inning, Chae Eun-sung was 3-for-2 (double, home run) with five RBIs and two runs scored, while Socrates was 3-for-2 (home run, double) with three RBIs and one run scored to lead the Nanum All-Stars’ bats.