Ray Choi

Kyung-hwan Choi (최경환)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 182 lb.

• School Kyung Hee University
• High School Seongnam High School

• Born March 12, 1972 in Seoul South Korea

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Ray Choi (known as Kyung-hwan Choi in his native South Korea) played three seasons in the minor leagues before returning to his native Korea.

Choi began his professional career in 1995 with the California Angels organization. He hit .299/.377/.328 in 21 games for the Boise Hawks and .228/.281/.317 in 36 for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Choi did not play in the minors in 1996. He moved to the Boston Red Sox chain next. In 1997, he batted .232/.298/.320 in 85 games for the Sarasota Red Sox. Returning to Sarasota for the 1998 season, he hit .271/.337/.403 in 63 contests and he stole 7 bases in 7 tries.

Choi moved to the LG Twins in 2000 to make his Korea Baseball Organization debut. He batted .246/~.291/.352 in 142 AB over 95 games. In 2001, he went 0 for 12 with 7 strikeouts. In '02, Ray moved to the Doosan Bears, where his batting line was .274/~.332/.434 and stole 15 bases in 22 tries, his first season as a starter in the KBO. He hit 13 homers, the only time he topped double digits.

The 31-year-old's batting line in 2003 was .297/~.341/.399. He was Korea's starting left fielder in the 2003 Baseball World Cup, in which he hit .321/.345/.464. In 2004, he batted .278/~.335/.367 as a starting outfielder for Doosan. In '05, he hit .262/~.338/.352.

Choi was then traded to the Lotte Giants for Jun-suk Choi. In 2006, he hit .209/~.261/.270 in 196 AB over 86 games, his least playing time in five years. During 2007, he batted .216/~.301/.311 in only 36 contests.

Ray next moved on to the KIA Tigers. In the 2008 KBO season, he hit .291/~.357/.409 in 65 games.

Through 12 games in 2009, Choi's career line in the KBO is .264/~.324/.368 in 775 games. He has stolen 55 bases in 80 tries. In the minor leagues, he had hit .250/.314/.346 with 18 steals in 23 attempts over 205 games.

Sources

• KBO player page
• 1996, 1998-1999 Baseball Almanacs
• Defunct IBAF site
• Korean Wikipedia entry