December 2, 200619 yr Tuesday, November 28, 2006 Rays Sign Hee-Seop Choi According to the Korean Times, the Rays have signed free agent first baseman Hee-Seop Choi. The contract is a 2-year deal valued at $1.95 million. Choi, 27, has not played in the major leagues since 2005, having played last year for the Red Sox AAA affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox. In 66 games he batted .207 with 8 home runs and 27 RBI. He has played parts of four seasons in the big leagues with the Cubs, Marlins and Dodgers. In 2005, Choi hit .253 with 15 home runs and 42 runs driven in for the Dodgers. Choi will be invited to spring training as a non-roster invitee with an opportunity to compete for the starting first base job. The move is a clear indication that the Rays front office is not afraid to spend money on free agents. There is no guarantee that Choi will begin the regular season as the starting first baseman with several in-house candidates already set to compete for the job, including Ty Wiggington, and several players that could be moved to fill the void, such as Jorge Cantu, Jonny Gomes and Elijah Dukes. In the past, $2 million would have been too steep of a price for a player that might not even make the opening day 25-man roster. This is yet another sign that the Rays may be ready to loosen the purse strings when value presents itself.
December 2, 200619 yr Not bad at all. A POWER hitting 1st basemen with sloppy low end defense going to an AL team. This could turn out to be a good 20 HR year for Choi from the DH spot, might not be so bad, what do they have to lose, at about 950K salary a year, that's great.
December 2, 200619 yr I was never much of a Choi fan either. I do remember a couple of clutch homeruns, but that's about it.
December 2, 200619 yr Not bad at all. A POWER hitting 1st basemen with sloppy low end defense going to an AL team. This could turn out to be a good 20 HR year for Choi from the DH spot, might not be so bad, what do they have to lose, at about 950K salary a year, that's great. Sloppy Defense? From what I remember he was pretty decent with the glove. Not a gold glover like Lee but far from being sloppy.
December 2, 200619 yr I never saw a ball leave PPS faster or harder hit (talking about to right field), including Delgado, than a half dozen hit by Hee Seop Choi. It's a shame he wasn't able to elevate his total game to the MLB level.
December 2, 200619 yr Choi had more raw power than almost any MLB player I've seen. His contact skills and pitch selection were a joke, but if he ever figures those things out he could be a good gamble.
December 2, 200619 yr Yep.. Amazing power. The 2 bombs that standout the most for me are the ones he hit on Opening Day and the one he hit just days before he got traded. I forget who it was against, but I remember it was huge and either won the game, or gave the Marlins the lead.
December 2, 200619 yr that one at home against the Phillies was awesome I'll never forget that one. I was taking a huge swig from my beer right before he hit that one and I almost choked to death from the sheer ownage of it all.
December 2, 200619 yr that one at home against the Phillies was awesome I'll never forget that one. I was taking a huge swig from my beer right before he hit that one and I almost choked to death from the sheer ownage of it all. I was up in the booth with Boog and DVH and they went absolutely nuts. So much fun. Boog called it too.
December 2, 200619 yr Yep.. Amazing power. The 2 bombs that standout the most for me are the ones he hit on Opening Day and the one he hit just days before he got traded. I forget who it was against, but I remember it was huge and either won the game, or gave the Marlins the lead. Vs the Phillies Hmm, between Crawford and Choi the DRays now have two of my favorite players. *starts watching*
December 3, 200619 yr Choi is awesome, I used to love chanting "HEE............ SEOP............... CHOI" when he was at bat :lol .
December 3, 200619 yr that one at home against the Phillies was awesome I'll never forget that one. I was taking a huge swig from my beer right before he hit that one and I almost choked to death from the sheer ownage of it all. I was up in the booth with Boog and DVH and they went absolutely nuts. So much fun. Boog called it too. 2 questions what connections do you have to be up in the booth? and... DVH went "crazy"? :mischief2 :blink:
December 4, 200619 yr hah i saw him last year when the syracuse minor league team (affiliate of the blue jays) played against the paw sox. choi struck out so poorly twice against a pitcher who gave up like 7 runs in 5 innings. his only bright spots were against choi.
December 4, 200619 yr that one at home against the Phillies was awesome I'll never forget that one. I was taking a huge swig from my beer right before he hit that one and I almost choked to death from the sheer ownage of it all. I was up in the booth with Boog and DVH and they went absolutely nuts. So much fun. Boog called it too. 2 questions what connections do you have to be up in the booth? and... DVH went "crazy"? :mischief2 :blink: well DVH was high 5ing atleast Boog and the rest of us were going apeshit
December 4, 200619 yr I guess nobody ever taught Boog Press Box etiquette Gotta love someone who wears his heart on his sleeve though, unlike some of these dead duck commentators around the league.
December 4, 200619 yr I was never a Choi fan. Never understood the love he got for the half season with the Marlins. Define 'love'. There were those who believed in him, those who thought his critics were too harsh and those who thought his name was funny. Juan Encarnacion was the same way.
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