Hwang Jae-gyun's retirement game, finished with a pinch-hit strikeout, 2,201 career games...KT six-game winning streak in first place
Hwang Jae-gyun came out as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning of his retirement game on September 13 and struck out swinging. He finished with 2,201 career games and 2,266 hits, and KT won 5-2 to extend their winning streak to six games.
Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.
Three-line summary
- Hwang Jae-gyun came out as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth with KT leading 5-2 and struck out swinging against Lotte left-hander Lee Young-jae.
- With his appearance in the retirement game, his total number of games became 2,201, and his hits remained at 2,266.
- His 2,266 career hits rank seventh all-time based on Money Today's report as of September 13, 2026.
2,201 is the last number that Hwang Jae-gyun (39) left in the KBO League. It's not the number of hits but the number of games played. In the bottom of the sixth inning of the September 13 Suwon Lotte game, he came out as a pinch hitter and finished his last at-bat with a strikeout swinging. His career hits are 2,266and stopped there.
Hwang Jae-gyun's last at-bat, 5-2 sixth inning pinch-hit strikeout swinging
Money Today reported that KT Wiz defeated Lotte Giants 5-2 at Suwon KT Wiz Park on that day. Hwang Jae-gyun came in as a pinch hitter with a 3-point lead in the bottom of the sixth inning and faced Lotte left-hander Lee Young-jae, but struck out swinging. He played third base defense in the top of the seventh inning before being substituted.
This usage was announced in advance. KT manager Lee Gang-chul (60) said ahead of the game OSEN in an interview, "My style is to use him right away when we have even a 3-point lead." The issue was whether a team in first-place contention would actually use a retired player's special roster entry in a game. Hwang Jae-gyun's official game appearance was for the first time in 345 days.
KT achieved a six-game winning streak with this victory. Money Today reported that KT maintained sole first place with a record of 75 wins, 3 draws, and 46 losses, two games ahead of second-place Samsung (as of the end of the September 13, 2026 game). Starting pitcher So Hyung-jun earned his eighth win of the season by allowing two runs in six innings.
Hwang Jae-gyun career 2,266 hits, 2,201 games, seventh all-time
Newsis summarized his career statistics before the retirement ceremony as 2,200 games, batting average of 0.285 (7,937 at-bats, 2,266 hits), 227 home runs, and 1,121 RBIs. With the addition of his appearance in the retirement game, his game count increased to 2,201, and since his last at-bat was a strikeout, his hits remained at 2,266.
Hwang Jae-gyun's KBO career record (including retirement game, rankings based on Money Today reporting)
| Category | Record | All-time ranking (based on reporting) |
|---|---|---|
| Games played | 2,201 | 7th (reported based on 2,200 games) |
| Hits | 2,266 | 7th |
| Home runs | 227 | Unconfirmed |
| RBIs | 1,121 | 15th |
| Batting average | 0.285 | Unconfirmed |
The ranking of 7th is not yet a confirmed value. Money Today wrote that he ranks seventh all-time in career hits. However, in Wikipedia's January 2026 table, eighth-place Kang Min-ho (Samsung) had 2,229 hits. Based on this table, the gap between the two players is 37hits. If Kang Min-ho's 2026 season hits are added, he may have surpassed Hwang Jae-gyun, so verification from the KBO official records office is needed. Based on the same Wikipedia table, sixth-place Yang Joon-hyuk (2,318 hits) is 52 hits ahead.
Free agent contract total of 14.8 billion won, from retention negotiations to retirement
Hwang Jae-gyun signed two free agent contracts with KT. In November 2017, when he joined KT, he signed a 4-year, 8.8 billion won contract (4.4 billion won signing bonus). In December 2021, he re-signed for 4 years at 6 billion won (2.5 billion won signing bonus, 2.9 billion won annual salary total, 600 million won option). Adding the two amounts reported by SBS and Korea Economic Daily 14.8 billion won.
Xsports News reported that after the 2025 season, Hwang Jae-gyun's retention negotiations with KT fell through, and he announced his retirement on December 19. The retirement ceremony was originally scheduled to be held during the August 8 Lotte game. However, the game was canceled due to extreme heat, so it was postponed to September 13.
At the retirement ceremony held after the game, Hwang Jae-gyun shed tears. According to Money Today, he said in his remarks, "I have always been a KT man. I wasn't a top-class player, but I want to be remembered as a player who steadily held my position." The same outlet reported that he said, "That one game meant so much to me."
Frequently asked questions
Q. What was the result of Hwang Jae-gyun's last at-bat in his retirement game?
He came out as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning against Lotte on September 13 in Suwon and struck out swinging against Lotte left-hander Lee Young-jae. He had no hits that day, and was substituted after playing third base defense in the top of the seventh inning.
Q. How old is Hwang Jae-gyun?
He was born on July 28, 1987, and is 39 years old as of 2026. He entered Hyundai Unicorns in 2006 and played for KT starting in 2018 after moving through the Heroes, Lotte, and San Francisco Giants.
Q. How many career hits does Hwang Jae-gyun have?
He has 2,266 career hits in the KBO, ranking seventh all-time based on Money Today's report as of September 13, 2026. 2,201 is not hits but the number of games played including the retirement game.
Related official sites
- KBO official website records (batting records) — Check career and season batting records by player
- KBO official website all-time records — Check KBO all-time batting records
Featured image · photo = Wikimedia Commons (Scott U on Flickr (Original version) 佾珜 (Crop)), CC BY-SA 2.0
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