Ki-moon Choi

Ki-moon Choi (최기문)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 183 lb.

• School Wonkwang University
• High School Choongam High School

• Born June 10, 1973 in Seoul South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Ki-moon Choi is in his 13th pro season in 2008.

In the 1994 Baseball World Cup, Choi starred, hitting .417/.423/.792 with 3 homers and 10 RBI in 10 games. He threw out 3 of 5 would-be base-stealers. He tied for 7th in the World Cup in homers. Luigi Carrozza beat him out for All-Tournament honors at catcher. In the Gold Medal game, he was 1 for 2 against Lazaro Valle in a 6-1 loss to Cuba before being replaced by Kab-yong Jin (who had began the game in left field). He won Silver in the 1994 Asian Games. Choi also played for Korea in the 1995 Asian Championship, helping them win Silver and a spot in the 1996 Olympics.

Choi began his professional career in 1996 with the OB Bears, batting .239/.283/.280 in a backup role. In 1997, he hit .233/.277/.287 in 128 AB over 75 games. During 1998, he went 4 for 25 in 16 contests. At age 25/26, he improved to .284/.338/.442 while moving to the Lotte Giants.

In 2000, Choi became a starter and batted .243/.303/.358. The next year, he had a career year, hitting .304/.375/.410. He lost the award for the best catcher in the KBO to Sung-heon Hong.

Choi hit .285/.337/.426 in 2002, setting highs in slugging, homers (8) and RBI (50). In 2003, he batted .294/.363/.380. In the 2003 Baseball World Cup, Choi hit .276/.300/.483 with 9 RBI in 9 games. He threw out 6 baserunners in 8 steal attempts. He was the only South Korean chosen for the All-Tournament team.

In 2004, the Lotte backstop batted .272/.341/.352 in his final year as a regular. His production fell drastically in 2005 (.192/.280/.243) and he did not play for Lotte in 2006. In 2007, he hit .220/.303/.271 in 59 AB.

After 1,075 games in the KBO, his career line is .262/.329/.364.

Sources

• KBO player page
• Defunct IBAF site