Rookie of the Month Goes to Hee S. Choi

Hee S. Choi of the Chicago Cubs was selected National League Rookie of the Month for April.

It was confirmed yesterday by Major League Baseball officials that Choi received the honor as the best National League rookie.

One day after Montreal Expos pitcher Zach Day was named winner of the monthly honor, Major League Baseball officials announced the 24-year-old righthander had 52 days of service before last September 1 and does not qualify as a rookie any longer. So the award was passed to Choi.

He is the first Korean-born winner of the award. Chan Ho Park of the Texas Rangers won the Pitcher of the Month and Player of the Week awards in July of 1998 with the Dodgers.

He hit just .241 in 20 games but had a .436 on-base percentage with three doubles and 16 runs scored, standing out most among National League rookies.

Jung Bong of the Atlanta Braves was also nominated Rookie of the Month, but failed to actually win the award. New York Yankees Hiddeki Matsui, was likewise nominated, but did not win the American League Rookie of the Month.

"I didn`t know I would get this award. I feel really good about it. I will take this as reward for my hard work," Choi later commented.

Against the Colorado Rockies, Choi played on Saturday as first base fifth hitter, and recorded two for three. Yesterday, however, he could not stand at bat, and played as a substitute baseman in the 8th. His season average is .258.

On the other hand, New York Mets player Jae Seo took the mound as starter against the Milwaukee Brewers, and showed strong defense for six innings, giving up only two runs on two hits. The Mets failed to support him though, and Seo ended up without a win or loss.

Atlanta Braves player Jung Bong meanwhile, pitched up his third win against the Arizona Diamondbacks shutting out two innings. Yesterday, he also shut out 1 1/3, recording his tenth shutout game in a row. He took the mound in the seventh with his team leading 6-5. He, however, allowed two hits, which called in the runners on first and second base. Fortunately for Bong, the runners were loaded by the starting pitcher, and therefore were not recorded as his ERA.

Following Chan Ho Park, Byung Hyun Kim headed for his fifteen-day on the disabled list yesterday.

Arizona Manager Bob Brenly announced yesterday that he would put Kim on the disabled list for his ankle injury. "He`s not showing enough progress with that ankle, and Scott Service will be up here tomorrow in time to pitch if we need him,`` Brenly said.

Brenly said Miguel Batista, who had been scheduled to pitch Tuesday, would start in Kim`s place Monday in the opener of a three-game series against Philadelphia. With his pitching continued, Kim was still affected by a bone bruise he received in his previous start against Colorado when the barrel of Peter Wilson`s broken bat hit him.

In his last start Tuesday, Kim aggravated his ankle using a pickoff move against Florida, which eventually marked one more loser on his record. Following this, Kim asked Brenly to take one or two games off.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com