Many of the players Choi Hyung-woo once shared the field with have already retired and moved into coaching or other leadership roles. With even a new generation of players having come and gone, the 42-year-old veteran outfielder for the Samsung Lions still steps into the batter’s box.
He’s not just hanging on. Choi continues to compete with the KBO’s best hitters and, at times, swings with more intent than many of them.
At 42, Choi Hyung-woo Is Still Lighting Up the Plate
Age hasn’t translated into a drop in production. Through May 13, Choi has appeared in 37 games and is batting .361 (48-for-133), third in the league. He also has seven home runs (7th), 28 RBIs (8th) and a 1.058 OPS (2nd). Over his last 10 games he’s hit .500 (17-for-34), a stretch that makes the label “42-year-old veteran” feel misleading.
Fans often call Choi a player who has “forgotten his age” or someone who “turned back the clock.” But Choi’s explanation is neither flashy nor sentimental. He says he didn’t cling to the past; he accepted that his body isn’t the same and started making the adjustments necessary to keep playing.
In a Yonhap interview published May 14, Choi said, “If you only think about the old days, you retire sooner. I changed, and that’s how I survived.” The interview was conducted the previous day (May 13) at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul after a game against the LG Twins.
Age is an unavoidable obstacle for athletes. Advances in sports science have extended careers, but after the 30s most players face a decline in physical tools — the so-called “aging curve.” Reaction times slow, swing speed drops, and even when tracking the same pitch, the timing and mechanics change subtly.
Choi was no exception. He listened to his body and accepted that the old approach wouldn’t yield the same results. From there, he made small adjustments — season by season, game by game, at-bat by at-bat.
“I make tiny adjustments all the time to fit the situation and the moment,” Choi told Yonhap. “My swing speed and reaction time aren’t what they used to be. Sometimes I think my timing is right and the bat comes around, but the pitch I should’ve hit in front ends up being hit farther back and becomes a foul. When that happens I tell myself, ‘My timing’s lagging today,’ and I move my timing slightly earlier and tweak other things.”
That mindset explains why the 42-year-old veteran still thrives. He doesn’t cling to the feel of his prime or rest on past glory. If yesterday’s methods don’t work today, he changes them. If his body feels different, he readjusts. Ironically, the first thing he had to let go of to stay at the top was his “old self.”
“If You Keep Living in the Past, You’ll Retire Early”
Choi put it plainly: “The most important thing is that if you keep thinking about and living in the past, you’ll retire early. You must keep changing.” He added, “Every time I look at the scoreboard I honestly wonder, ‘Did I go back ten years?’ I kept changing, and those changes accumulated into results.”
The numbers surprise fans, and they still feel unfamiliar to Choi himself. At an age well into his 40s, his stat line is comparable to his peak years. That makes his story more than a player’s box score.
Everyone has techniques that once defined them. We all want to hold onto past highs. But environments, bodies and the game itself evolve. Those who only say, “It used to be like this,” stall. Those who accept the new reality and adapt can shine again, even if later. Choi’s 2026 season reads like a human-interest story about that kind of reinvention.
Part of the satisfaction 40-something fans feel watching Choi comes from that example. For people who think it’s harder to accomplish new things as they age, he represents someone who kept adapting and still produces results.
Choi said he’s proud and grateful to still be playing hard, but he no longer chases big personal milestones. “I haven’t wanted more success for a while. Playing baseball at this age is a blessing, so I don’t have much greed,” he said.
Choi was a cornerstone of Samsung’s dominant teams and now serves as the club’s elder statesman, passing experience to younger players. But the advice he gives isn’t technical. He talks about staying in the lineup and being the kind of player the team needs.
Advice to Young Players: “Don’t Hit .300 in 100 Games — Hit .280 Over 144”
“The thing I tell players most is, ‘Don’t try to hit .300 over 100 games; play 144 games and hit .280,’” Choi told Yonhap. “Young players often push themselves to chase a .300 average, get injured and lose their spot. If you’re a regular, simply staying in the lineup is a massive contribution to the team.”
His words read like life advice. It’s harder to keep a place long-term than to shine briefly. Consistency proves a person over time. That’s also why Choi still plays at 42: he built his body and mindset to step into the box the next day rather than chase one spectacular performance. Still, he doesn’t pretend to know the future. He understands uncertainty better than most and declined to say easily how he wants to be remembered.
“Until about four years ago I carried a resignation letter in my heart. I thought I’d done enough,” he said. “Back then I thought about how I wanted to be remembered, but that thought disappeared. As you age you can’t see an inch ahead. Even if you’re performing well now, you could collapse next month.”
Even if you’re doing well today, tomorrow is never guaranteed. That’s why you have to be more diligent now. Choi’s calmness isn’t indifference; it’s the realism of someone who has endured a long career. Another source of his drive is the fans. When he returned to Samsung, he thought younger fans might not know him, so he aimed to prove himself with play rather than name recognition.
“Fans Cheer So Passionately. I Feed Off That and Perform Better”
“Because of a 10-year gap, I thought young fans might not know me, so I decided to show them ‘an older player who still plays well’ rather than ‘an old man who came back,’” Choi said. “But surprisingly, even those who didn’t know me and the kids cheer so passionately. I feed off that energy and feel I perform better.” He expressed sincere gratitude.
Choi’s story isn’t about reminiscing over a glittering past. It’s about changing himself every day so he won’t be stuck in that past. Anyone can say it’s not too late as you get older, but Choi proves it with stats and plate appearances. The reason 42-year-old Choi Hyung-woo still produces isn’t that he turned back time — it’s that he accepted time’s passage, accepted a changed body and adjusted himself to the new reality. Those changes accumulated and now shine again on the scoreboard.
