Slugger Choi Jeong of the SSG Landers receives congratulations after becoming the first player in KBO history to hit 500 career home runs during a game against the NC Dions in SSG Landers Field in Incheon on May 13. Yonhap News

Veteran slugger Choi Jeong of the SSG Landers blasted his 500th career home run in a game against the NC Dinos in SSG Landers Field in Incheon on May 13. This milestone, even by the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) standards, is considered a near-guarantee for a Hall of Fame induction. In the MLB’s nearly 150-year history, only 28 players have reached the 500-home run mark, and 21 of them are enshrined in Cooperstown.

The 500-home run benchmark is held in such high esteem because it requires consistent top-level performance over a long career. To hit 25 home runs per year, a player must maintain that pace for 20 years. Many sluggers with explosive early-career performances falter as they age. Staying healthy and maintaining peak physical condition are essential to reaching this elite club.

Since hitting 12 home runs in his sophomore season in 2006, Choi has recorded double-digit home run totals for 19 consecutive years. Even in seasons shortened by injury where he played fewer than 100 games, he still managed to hit at least 10 home runs.

Choi's 500 home runs stand alone in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) history. It is hard to predict whether anyone else will ever reach that milestone again.

The next closest active players are Park Byung-ho of the Samsung Lions with 412 home runs and Choi Hyung-woo of the KIA Tigers with 401 home runs. Both are older than Choi. They are followed by Kang Min-ho of the Samsung Lions with 340 and Na Sung-bum of the KIA Tigers with 276. All are in their mid to late 30s, making it unlikely any will hit 500 home runs.

Attention now turns to younger hitters. Among players in their 20s, only two, Kang Baek-ho of the KT Wiz and Noh Si-hwan of the Hanwha Eagles, have hit 100 home runs. Kang has hit 127 home runs and Noh 102 home runs. Their pace compares favorably to Choi, who had hit 126 home runs by the end of the season in 2012 when he was 25.

But the real challenge comes after that. Choi became a true power hitter in his 30s. At age 30, he hit a career-high 46 home runs in 2017. He has consistently hovered around 30 home runs per season since. From ages 20 to 29, Choi hit 225 home runs over 12 seasons. From age 30 through last season, he added 270 more in just eight years. His annual average rose from 18.75 home runs in his 20s to 33.75 home runs in his 30s.

Kang Baek-ho has averaged 17.29 home runs per season through last year, while Noh Si-hwan has averaged 15.33. To reach 500, they would need a dramatic power surge similar to Choi’s. Overseas opportunities could also affect their trajectories. Kang becomes a free agent at the end of this season and may pursue a career abroad.

As a player who has already left an indelible mark on KBO history, Choi is not finished yet. His next goal is 600 home runs. “It’s a record I’d really like to achieve,” he said. “Since staying on the field is the only way to get that opportunity, I’m realizing the importance of taking care of my body more than ever.”

Choi signed a four-year, 11 billion won worth free agent contract with the SSG Landers before this season, which keeps him with the team through at least 2028. Over the past five seasons, he has hit 160 home runs, an average of 32 per year. Even after returning from injury this season, he has already hit five home runs in his first 10 games, proving he is still a top-tier slugger. If he maintains this pace, he could reach 600 by the end of the season in 2027 or early of the season in 2028.

But hitting 600 home runs is in a different realm than hitting 500 home runs. In MLB history, only nine players have ever reached that mark. Babe Ruth was the first in 1931, and Albert Pujols most recently joined the club in 2017. In Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), only two players, Sadaharu Oh and Katsuya Nomura, have reached the milestone.