"Yahoo!" Choi Hee-sub Made Two Dynamite Doubles

His bat danced in front of Cincinnati`s red uniforms. By now it`s no wonder why they call him "the Cincinnati Killer."

Choi Hee-sub, 25, of the Florida Marlins, who played as the sixth batter and defended first base at the game on May 28 against the Cincinnati Reds at Cincinnati’s Great America Ballpark, was strong against the Reds.

Choi, who retuned to the bench after a fly-ball out in the second inning, sparked the Marlin`s offense in the fourth inning with a left-field double. Gonzalez followed up with a timely hit which led to a score.

After Florida tied the game in the fifth inning with a runner on third base and one out, Choi hit another double, bringing in Cabrella from third base. It was a priceless hit that turned the tide of the game. Choi lead the team to a 5-2 victory with two hits, one RBI, and was 2-5 at bat.

Choi Hee-sub has hit 5 homeruns and 10 RBIs in his last nine games against the Reds. He has hit at every one of the nine games against Cincinnati and even hit his 11th homerun on May 27. His batting average at games against the Reds is now 0.298 (14 in 47 at bat), with 5 homeruns and 10 RBIs. Choi commented, "The homerun from yesterday (27th) helped me relax."

Choi, who participated in the last 13 games, is now on the rise, bringing his hitting average up to 0.250. On an unrelated note, Choi will be facing Suh Jae-ung of the Mets, his two-year senior from Kwangju-Il High School, for the first time on Florida`s home ground, the Pro-players Stadium at 7:05AM on May 30 (broadcasted by MBC-ESPN). The two, who met earlier at this year`s exhibition games, are tied in statistics against each other with one strike-out, one double hit and an in-bound hit.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com