By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
In his much-anticipated Korean debut, Kia Tigers cleanup hitter Choi Hee-seop picked up where he left off in the U.S., that is, padding the stat sheets with swings and misses.
The former Major League Baseball slugger went 0-5 in his first game with the Tigers Saturday in a road game against the Doosan Bears, failing to please a sold-out 35,000 crowd at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul. Despite Choi's struggles, the Tigers beat the Bears 6-0.
Choi struck out looking in his first at bat in the second inning and flied out to center field in the third. Choi grounded out in the fifth and hit a liner straight to the shortstop in the seventh. Choi managed to reach first base on a fielder's choice in the ninth.
``I have to learn more about Korean pitchers. The pitchers I faced today threw hard and had a lot of movement in their breaking pitches,'' said Choi in a post-game interview.
Choi, who started this year with a minor league affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, signed a contract earlier this month with the Gwangju-based Tigers, which could pay him up to 1.55 billion won through the end of the season, to return to Korea.
Choi is the 17th Korean player to return to the domestic league after playing for a Major League Baseball team.
The left-batting Choi, who had shown promise as a power hitter in the minor leagues with the Chicago Cubs, was called up to the big leagues in 2002 but never really lived up to his expectations. Although Choi has always been known for power, he has been criticized for his passive approach to the plate as well as his long swings that struggle to catch up with fast balls.
Choi moved around five teams during his MLB career _ the Cubs, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, and the Devil Rays _ appearing in 363 games and posted a batting average of .240 with 40 homeruns and 120 RBIs.