I thought he played first and third base. Was he just a 1B in Korea? And yeah, his bat was well-publicized...and for good reason.
I really do love his eye at the plate and the swing is pretty. I also love his work ethic and coachability, or at least what I've heard about it. Not to get all racial on you, but Choi is Korean. You've seen what the Koreans do in the LPGA, right? Or how hard they work just in desk jobs?
I liked the add of another Korean bat (and best in the country) at first for a simple reason: I could believe with reasonable certainty that the hitter would put his nose to the grindstone and work to be the absolute best he can be. I miss Shin-soo Choo and enjoyed watching him do all he could to excel, and outshine every other prospect we've had through the system in that time. I'll take another shot at that sort of player.
I was also surprised they didn't play Choi at 3B at all, but maybe they really do think Jose Martinez is all that, and wanted Choi to have the comfort of 1B. I really wish we'd let Choi catch. Just tell him to work on it and let him make it happen. He has a cannon for an arm, and can work on footwork. English can't be THAT big a barrier. Just call pitches from the dugout for a while.
We'll see what we do with him, but I love the kid. He's one of the bats I'm most looking forward to watching in a full-season league this year, because I can't see them bumping him just to Everett unless they spend from now until July just working on his ability to don the tools of ignorance.
~G
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