There wasn't much fanfare when the Korea Baseball Organization's Samsung Lions released catcher Hyoung-Woo Choi after the 2005 season. After all, the former sixth-round draft pick saw only a handful of games across three seasons, going just 2-for-10 with two doubles and no RBIs. The move was merely a line in a transaction report -- except to Choi himself, that is.

"People might make fun of me for saying it, but I'm going to return with a vengeance against everything that betrayed me," a 21-year-old Choi wrote on the South Korean social media platform Cyworld following his release from the Samsung Lions. "I'll be sharpening my blade to come back here to destroy this place. Some day, some day ... I'll have my revenge."

Normally, that type of post might be considered wishful thinking. Others might consider it a kind of cringey overshare or perhaps something to involve the authorities about. But in Choi's case, it came true on the ballfield: Nearly 20 years later, on June 20, 2023, Choi smashed a two-run home run, driving in RBIs No. 1,499 and 1,500 to break legendary slugger Seung-yuop Lee's all-time KBO record.

"I never would have dreamt of doing that, obviously, earlier in my career," Choi said through MLB's SunJae Song, who interpreted. "You know, every hit was important. Every RBI was really important. I was just focusing on that. I never would have dreamt about this back in the day."

Choi's path to the record is one of the more remarkable stories in baseball history. After being released by the Lions, Choi joined the Metropolitan Police team in the Futures League -- the KBO's minor leagues -- to complete his military service. It was while he was there that former manager and president of the Samsung Lions, Kim Eung-yong, saw him and asked a team staffer, "That kid is still with us, right?"

The team employee lied and said, "Yes," and then quickly re-signed the player when his military service was up.

The story has plenty more layers to it, but as Choi said with a laugh, "That's too long of a story to tell in one interview."

It all worked out for the Lions, though: After re-signing Choi, they watched as he broke out in 2008, hitting .276 with 19 home runs and 71 RBIs as a 25-year-old rookie.

"For someone to be cut and then to sign again after completing their military service and coming up in their age-23 or -24 season and then having that kind of the longevity that he's had? It is very unusual," Jeeho Yoo, who covers baseball for Yonhap News, told MLB.com. "To be honest, I don't know if you're gonna see another career path like this in this day and age. If you're not drafted out of high school in a high round, chances are you're probably not going to get the chance to win the regular job at the KBO level. So yeah, it's a very unusual career path."

Those numbers helped Choi set another record that first year: The 25-year-old Choi became the oldest player in KBO history to earn Rookie of the Year honors.

"When he won the Rookie of the Year, he was going on 25," Yoo said. "A lot of the highly touted prospects are coming out high school and they're in their fourth or fifth year at that age -- and this was his first season!"

While it would be easy to say that the Lions made a mistake and gave up on the slugger too soon, Choi admits that he had a lot of learning and growing up to do on the Police team. He not only worked on his swing, but he changed his habits, no longer relying on natural skill.

"Before I was released, and when I was going back and forth between the Futures League, I may have gotten a little bit nonchalant with my work ethic," Choi said. "You know, I could always hit and was confident in my ability. But it was at the Police when I really just buckled down and started working really hard. When I came back and started playing professional ball again, I had the opportunity to prove myself."

Choi focused on how he would react to failures, too. In a sport like baseball, where players fail far more often than they succeed, the ability to shrug off bad days is a crucial skill.

"Back in the day, I wasn't sure what tomorrow held," Choi said. "I obviously concentrated a lot, but I was also really stressed about it. If I had a bad day, then I would get stressed and really be down on myself. But as I got older, I learned to be a little bit more relaxed. I know there's a tomorrow."

From that springboard season in 2008, Choi's KBO career took off. The lessons he learned with the Metropolitan Police stuck, helping Choi top 25 home runs eight times in his career and 100 RBIs in seven different seasons. No longer a below-average defensive catcher, Choi became a standout outfielder, racking up Gold Glove wins in 2011, 2013-14 and 2016-17. His proudest accomplishments, however, are the KBO titles he won with the Lions in 2011 and the Tigers in 2017.

"I mean, winning the championship -- that's what it's all about," Choi said.

Of course, it's also important to play for the fans -- something that Choi takes a moment to call out specifically while wearing a shirt that the fans had printed for him.

"I mean, [the fans] are the best. I'm very sure that there's no fans like them -- even in the U.S. and in the Major Leagues," Choi said. "They're so passionate, they're always cheering, they're cheering together. It's something that you won't understand unless you come to the Tigers game and experience it for yourself."

These days, the 39-year-old Choi -- he'll turn 40 next month -- is no longer the young slugger with a chip on his shoulder or with revenge on his mind. He's learned to relax and take in the game on its own terms, even as he enters free agency in his 40s and looks to bounce back from a broken collarbone that ended his 2023 season prematurely. He knows that players look up to him, both for the perseverance he showed in making it to the league and for his great performance on the field.

"The career path that I had and the feelings that I had -- I certainly hope that I can serve as a role model," Choi said. "The way I think is that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. Don't give up, never give up and someday there's going to be a brighter day."