San Diego Padres’ other Korean big leaguer Choi Ji-man (32) is unable to escape his worst performance at the end of the season.
Ji-Man Choi started as first baseman No. 5 in the home game against the Colorado Rockies held at Petco Park on the 20th (Korean time) and recorded no hits and one walk in two at-bats. San Diego won 2-0 thanks to starter Blake Snell’s 7 innings of no-hit, no-run pitching and Xander Bogaerts’ walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning, and their 6th consecutive win.
Choi Ji-man played for the first time in three days since the Oakland Athletics game on the 17th. But there were no hits that day either. Since wearing the San Diego uniform on the 2nd of last month, he has not yet reported a hit. He went 0-for-23 in 15 at-bats with seven walks and five strikeouts in nine games. After the transfer, his batting average is zero, with an on-base percentage of 0.348, a slugging percentage of 0, and an OPS of 0.348.
The most recent game in which Choi Ji-man hit a hit was against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 30th during his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He hit a middle-of-the-road hit in his first at-bat in the bottom of the second inning and a double to right in his second at-bat in the fourth inning. However, since then he has not recorded a hit in 26 plate appearances and 18 at-bats. Meanwhile, he was out for over a month due to injury. Choi Ji-man, who was placed on the IL on the 13th of last month due to a left rib injury, did not return to the lineup until the 16th.
Choi Ji-man will qualify as a free agent after finishing this season. Choi Ji-man, who was placed on the IL in mid-April due to an Achilles tendon injury, returned on July 8 after concentrating on rehabilitation for nearly three months. His injury and subsequent inconsistent appearances ruined his free agency season. His performance this season is a batting average of 0.170 (15 hits in 88 at-bats), 6 home runs, 11 RBI, 12 runs scored, and an OPS of 0.673 in 32 games.
Choi Ji-man came to the United States in early 2010. He signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners and moved to the United States in July 2009, when he was a third year student at Dongsan High School in Incheon. He made his major league debut after going through the Baltimore Orioles and being selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the Rule 5 draft in December 2015. His big league debut was against the Chicago Cubs held at Angel Stadium on April 6, 2016.
At that time, he substituted as a left fielder in the top of the 9th inning and played defense for 1 inning, and did not stand at bat. And two days later, in a home game against the Texas Rangers, he came on as a pinch hitter in the 9th inning and retired with a grounder to second base, which was his debut at-bat.스포츠토토
Choi Ji-man’s major league life is truly that of a ‘journeyman’ itself. After going through Seattle → Baltimore → Angels, the New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays, he was traded to Pittsburgh after last year’s season, and wore a San Diego uniform ahead of the trade deadline last summer. San Diego is officially Choi Ji-man’s 8th team. However, he has never played in Baltimore’s uniform since he transferred back to the Angels immediately after signing a free agent contract on November 25, 2015.
It remains to be seen whether Choi Ji-man will be able to find a new team this winter or whether he will seek a different career path.