Choi Ji-man (33, New York Mets), who is trying again in the Major League, made three hits and showed green light to enter the opening roster. 메이저 토토사이트
Choi Ji-man started as the fifth batter and first baseman in the 2024 Major League exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, on the 10th (Korea time), and scored three hits in three at-bats, an RBI, a walk, and a point. The New York Mets won 9-3 thanks to the performance of Choi Ji-man, who hit the most hits in the team.
Choi, who had no hits in four consecutive games recently, saw his batting average rise from 0.182 to 0.357. His on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) also stood at 1.214.
He battled various pitchers. The first pitcher he encountered was left-handed starter Steven Matz (33). Matz is also well known as a player who made 44 million dollars in four years as a free agent after the season while playing for Ryu Hyun-jin (37) of the Hanwha Eagles and the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021. He had easy results with four wins, seven losses and an earned run average of 3.86 in 25 games last year, and is expected to keep his starting rotation again this year.
Choi Ji-man watched a high sinker coming toward his body in his first at-bat with two outs and a runner on second base with the Mets leading 1-0. The second sinker of 95.1 miles per hour (about 153 kilometers) coming to the same course was cleared. The Mats-Wilson Contreras battery induced a swing with a low curve to the outside, but Choi Ji-man hit it lightly and sent it to the end of the left fence. St. Louis left fielder Alfonso Rivas attempted a diving catch, but Choi Ji-man’s hit hit hit the field and over the fence to become a “recognition double.” Mark Vientos homered on this hit, making a timely RBI.
After being shaken up once, Matsui also had a timely hit by Brett Barty, who hit a timely hit to the left, and Choi Ji-man homered. In the second inning, he committed an infield hit and a wild pitch on the hit ball, allowing one more run, and was replaced by Riley O’Brien in the third inning. Matsui had five hits (one homer) in two innings, two strikeouts and four runs.
Choi Ji-man got on base by drawing a walk from the changed pitcher O’Brien after a full count match. O’Brien continued to throw a body ball at Choi Ji-man to try to swing and miss, but failed.
In the fourth inning, he targeted fastball right-hander Ryan Fernandez. Fernandez hit a fast sinker of 95 miles per hour (about 152.8 kilometers) or faster against Choi. However, Choi hit a low-flying second pitch to score a hit to center field.
The 95-mile-per-hour ball was too easy for Choi Ji-man, who was hitting a 95-mile-per-hour ball. Choi Ji-man was the leadoff hitter in the top of the eighth inning, connected Robbles’ first pitch with a right-handed hit, and immediately replaced by pinch runner Yohairo Cuevas to finish the game.
Through the eighth inning, the Mets had four pitchers including starting pitcher Sean Munnea. However, when Hunter Parsons gave up a home run to two batters in the ninth inning, he allowed four runs and failed to win forever. Munnea became a winning pitcher by allowing two hits, three walks, and five strikeouts in four innings.
Since his big league debut in 2016, Choi Ji-man has played six teams until last year, recording a career-high batting average of 0.234 with 67 home runs and 238 RBIs in 525 games. Choi Ji-man, who became an FA after last season, can participate in MLB spring camp with the New York Mets on the 17th of last month and signed a split contract worth 3.5 million dollars (about 4.6 billion won) per year, including performance bonuses, when entering the opening roster.
At the time of signing the contract, his agency GSM said, “I was the most aggressive towards Choi and reached the contract with the New York Mets considering MLB playing time in the future.” According to GSM, there were some sweet offers from three teams of the Japanese professional baseball (NPB). “It is not time to play in Japan yet,” Choi said through his agency.
As the Mets have a steady first baseman named Pete Alonso, Choi expected to face a difficult competition. However, Choi has performed well against various pitchers, being the fastest among competitors. Vientos, who was the most promising contender, has a batting average of 0.200 (five hits in 25 times at bat) and an OPS of 0.591 as of Tuesday.
When Choi signed a split contract with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018, he returned to the big league with a batting average of 0.409 OPS of 1.245 in 25 games. When he moved to the Tampa Bay Rays the following year, he played the most five seasons, contributing to Tampa Bay’s advance to the World Series as a clubhouse mood maker and platoon first baseman.