Daegu: Lewin Diaz of the Samsung Lions broke South Korean baseball’s single-season RBI record Thursday while also becoming the most prolific home run hitter from outside the country. Diaz drove in a run with a double against the Kiwoom Heroes in the bottom of the fifth inning at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul, for a record 147th RBI of this Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season. He broke a tie with his current Lions teammate Park Byung-ho, who had 146 RBIs for the Nexen Heroes in 2015.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Diaz then smacked a three-run home run in the bottom eighth to reach 150 RBIs. With 49 homers, Diaz set another KBO record — the most home runs by a foreign player in a season. Diaz pulled ahead of former Lions second baseman Yamaico Navarro, who had 48 homers in 2015. Diaz is now a homer away from becoming just the fourth player in KBO history to hit 50 in a season — joining former Lions star Lee Seung-yuop (54 in 1999 and 56 in 2003), former Hyundai Unicorns masher Shim Chong-soo (53 in 2003) and Park (52 in 2014 and 53 in 2015). The Lions have four games left this season.