It was a surprise remark. Choi Ji-man (34) expressed his desire to play in the KBO league, even as he expressed his intention to fulfill his military duty, which he had delayed.바카라

Choi Ji-man is currently participating in the 2025 LG Twins Spring Camp held at Scottsdale Indian School Park Ballpark in Arizona.

According to a source familiar with the situation, Choi has expressed his intention to return to the Korean KBO league along with challenging himself to become an NPB player. Choi also expressed his intention to fulfill his mandatory military service in order to play in Korea.

Choi Ji-man's major league career began with the Los Angeles Angels in 2016 and has been cut off from the San Diego Padres in 2023. Last year, he signed a split contract worth a total of $3.5 million (4.6 billion won) with the New York Mets and tried again in the Major League (MLB), but eventually failed to reach the big leagues and declared opt-out in June, becoming a free agent, and he has not been able to find a team since then.

According to an LG source, he visited LG's spring camp last year as well, and during additional training in the afternoon, he directly faced pitchers' pitches in the batting cage to adjust his sense of play. He also gives advice to Korean baseball players by sharing their MLB experiences.

Choi's intention to go to the KBO is surprising. When Choi chose the Mets last year, their agency GSM said that they were the most enthusiastic toward Choi and reached a contract with the New York Mets considering MLB playing time. According to GSM, there were also sweet offers from three NPB teams. Choi also expressed his position through his agency, saying, "It's not time to play in Japan yet."

Therefore, this comment can be interpreted as meaning that Choi Ji-man has let go of his regret about MLB. Even attention is focused on the fact that Choi Ji-man needs two more years to play in the KBO League.

When a player who has experienced overseas activities heads to the KBO, a two-year grace period rule for overseas players will be applied. In other words, Choi can play after the rookie draft of the KBO from the age of 37. This means that he is considering fulfilling his mandatory military service and returning during the grace period.

Choi Ji-man, who had to stop his career and join the military after the age of 30 in 2020 when he was 29, delayed his military service until the age of 37 when he obtained permanent residency.

That is how much regret he had over his career. After graduating from Dongsan High School in Incheon, Choi headed to the U.S. in 2010 with a big dream, and had to endure the painstaking six years until he was called up. He joined seven teams for the next eight seasons. He is the ninth team to play including his minor league days.

Six years have passed since he joined the big league, but there has never been an easy way since then. While he was recognized for his strong defense capability, he was often appointed as a platoon due to his weakness against left-handed pitchers. Choi, who became a free agent after spending his first season in the big league in 2016, signed a contract with the New York Yankees as an invited player in spring training in 2017. The situation is a little different, but it was a split contract as it is now.

He left the team that winter again. This time, he signed a split contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, and was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle of the season. It was a turning point of Choi Ji-man's career.

Since his call-up in July and his eight-homer slugging percentage was 0.506, he has become a valuable resource to Tampa Bay. It was his first double-digit home run since his debut. In 2019, he played in 127 games, his career-high. He had a batting average of 0.261, 19 homers and 63 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 0.822.

In the same year, he also hit a home run in Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Houston Astros. It was the second Korean Major Leaguer's postseason home run after Choo Shin-soo (current SSG Landers).

However, the following year, MLB moved to a 60-game season in the aftermath of COVID-19, and Choi Ji-man bowed his head while suffering ups and downs. He was the first Korean to have a World Series hit, but there were many regrets when looking back on the season.

Choi Ji-man, who entered the new season after failing to reach a smooth agreement in salary negotiations with the club and going through the pain of applying for adjustment, was somewhat disappointed with a batting average of 0.229 with 11 home runs and an OPS of 0.759 in 83 games.

He hit .233 with 11 home runs and an OPS of .729 in 113 games in 2022, but he showed a sluggish trend in the second half and was frustrated by the complete sacrifice of the platoon system. Eventually, Choi Ji-man, who finished the season, was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates and ate with Bae Ji-hwan, but he rarely found his skills after undergoing surgery to remove bone fragments in his elbow and seemed to lose his opportunity due to the Achilles tendon injury.

After returning to the team in July, he hit a home run off Shohei Ohtani (then of the Los Angeles Angels), and although he had as many as 10 long balls out of 15 hits, he ended up wearing the San Diego Padres uniform through trade in August. There was no unexpected twist. This time, he injured his rib and had a hit to the top of his foot, lowering his head.

Choi Ji-man, who became an FA after the season, held the hand that the Mets gave out while making his body personally, but became invincible again.

He played eight seasons in the big league, but only two seasons played more than 100 games. He is thirsty for enough opportunities to play, but he felt limited in MLB and seems to have turned his attention to the KBO League as an answer.

Of course, there is no guarantee of success.