Suwon: Mel Rojas Jr. of the KT Wiz has become the all-time leader in home runs by a foreign player in South Korean baseball. Rojas hit his 175th career home run in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Thursday, contributing to a 6-2 victory over the Kiwoom Heroes at KT Wiz Park, located approximately 30 kilometers south of Seoul. His two-run homer came off pitcher Jung Hyun-woo.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Rojas' home run, which traveled 135 meters, allowed him to surpass former OB/Doosan Bears player Tyrone Woods for the top spot among foreign-born players in the KBO. Woods had previously held the record with 174 home runs between 1998 and 2002, achieved in 614 games. Rojas reached his milestone in his 731st game. He began his career in the KBO as a midseason addition for the Wiz in 2017 and secured the KBO regular-season MVP award in 2020 with 47 home runs and 135 RBIs.
After a stint in Japan, Rojas returned to the Wiz before the 2024 season. Last year, he hit 32 home runs. In the current season, Rojas has recorded 11 home runs over 76 games. Despite being sent to the minors in late June due to a slump, he has recently shown improvement, hitting two home runs in three games in July.
Rojas is now on the verge of becoming only the third foreign player to reach 20 home runs in five consecutive seasons, a feat previously achieved by Woods and former SK Wyverns/SSG Landers player Jamie Romak.