I want to play in Korea Choi Ji-man's chances of going to KBO, which team will he play for
Feb 20, 2025
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Choi Ji-man, who has yet to find his team in the Major League since leaving the New York Mets last year, is currently training with LG Twins players who set up camp at Scottsdale Indian School Park Ballpark in Arizona.
Before graduating from Dongsan High School, he joined the Seattle Mariners on an international amateur free contract in 2009 and challenged the major leagues, making his big league debut with the Los Angeles Angels in 2016 after a long minor league career. Since then, he has blossomed in Tampa Bay, where he transferred in 2018 after passing through the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Blueworth. Declined to be Journeyman after 2023. After playing in Pittsburgh, San Diego, and the New York Mets, he is now looking for a new team.
A baseball life that has lived a life of constant challenges. be at a crossroads. It is time to make an important decision.
He was born in 1991 and is already in his mid-30s. Choi Ji-man, who has a long shot and excellent defense, is full of big guns representing the big leagues at the first base of his position. Unless you are a team that needs an experienced backup, you are less likely to send a love call. A big league guarantee contract is not easy at the moment.
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The Major League conveyed this intention to domestic reporters who met at the camp site.
Choi Ji-man told Yonhap News in an interview there "It is most appropriate to express that we are currently at a crossroads. Major League Baseball teams, which had been in contact in the offseason because they did not play in MLB last year, all wanted split contracts, including minor contracts. "If I'm young, I'm willing to do it, but in the back of my mind, I've grown my desire to play in front of Korean fans." "Even after retirement, I want to become a leader to train junior players (in Korea) based on my major league experience..." he also announced his long-term plan. Playing in the KBO League can be a better option than Japan in terms of continuity and league understanding in order to continue his leadership career after retirement.
However, it is impossible to play in the KBO right now.
Choi Ji-man, who moved to the U.S. immediately after graduating from high school, has to go through the rookie draft after the two-year grace period according to the rules. The military service that has been delayed for those two years must be resolved. On top of that, we need to quickly find a sense of practice that will become dull during the military service vacuum.
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Although he is in his mid-30s, Choi Ji-man is an experienced hitter and excellent first baseman with 67 home runs, 238 RBIs and a slugging percentage of 0.426 in 525 big league games. For the club that recruits him, they will get an additional experienced foreign hitter who is good at defense. It is expected to be a pretty attractive card for a team that wants to strengthen its central batting lineup as a big-handed first baseman who can immediately become a force. If he decides to go to Korea and participates in the draft two years later, it will be a pressing matter of interest in which team uniform he will wear.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
