Choi Ji-man’s good defense garners attention

Baseball fans online praised outstanding defense by Choi Ji-man, the first baseman of the Tampa Bay Rays, in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) held on Tuesday at Petco Park in San Diego, California.

Choi who showed up in the game as a cleanup hitter and a starting first baseman caught tricky balls utilizing his long legs from shortstop Willy Adames in the third inning and third baseman Joey Wendle in the fifth and eighth inning. As Choi who is 185 cm in height and 118 kg in weight showed flexible movements, some said he looks like Kung Fu Panda, a character in a DreamWorks Animation movie. “In a real game, it can be hard to throw a ball with as much accuracy as we want,” said Adames after the game. “I am shocked as Choi catches all of them.”

The Tampa Bay Rays won two games in a row with the 4-2 win for the game. Choi had no hit in four times at bat with three strikeouts but scored one run after reaching first base due to a mistake by the opponent, followed by a home run by next hitter Manuel Margot.


Kyu-In Hwang kini@donga.com