Big Choi Hits Lucky Double

Choi Hee-seop of the Chicago Cubs banged out a double-bagger once again.

In a Major League away match held at PNC Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Choi was the starting sixth hitter and with one hit in five at bat including his double. It is the 11th double since the beginning of the season.

In the second inning, the left fielder caught Choi`s fly, and Choi was struck out in the 4th inning. However, Choi stroke the ball against Jeff D`Amico, starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the ball flew high and dropped to the left of the foul line. Although the ball was not hit well, luckily, it was hard for both the third baseman and left fielder to reach. However, as batter Mark Bellhorn popped out for a third out, it wasn`t enough for the team to add to the scoreboard.

Choi then hit a grounder which ended in a double play when his team was losing the game two to five. He could touch the first base as the second baseman committed an error. Chicago had a chance to catch up after Mark Bellhorn walked to first causing bases full with no outs. The team then used pinch-hitter Tom Goodwin, who got caught out, and then Eric Karros, who led a double play from a shortstop catch, couldn`t capitalize on it.

Choi`s current batting average is .257 and maintains 21 runs batted in with 7 home runs. In addition, he has raised the number of long hits to 18 (69.2%) with doubles and over as he hit another double in this last game. This is the best record in the MLB; better than that of Scott Rolen (Saint Louis Cardinals). Rolen has a record of 58.1% (25 out of 43) long hits.

The return of Kim Byung-hyun (24, Arizona Diamondbacks) has been delayed further. Manager Bob Brenly of Arizona put Miguel Batista as the starting pitcher against the San Francisco Giants. This is because MLB officials did not impose any penalties on Batista before the game.

Also Bong Jung-kuen (23, Atlanta Braves) appeared in an away match against the Cincinnati Reds as a relief pitcher in the eighth inning when Atlanta trailed 3-6. However, he knocked out a home run (3 runs) with two base hits and 2 foul balls in a single inning. He got 2 strike outs but his errors worsened however by 2.45 to 3.52.

Hwan-Soo Zang zangpabo@donga.com