Former Angels Slugger to Pause Baseball Career for Military Service

In December 2015, the Angels claimed first baseman/outfielder Ji-Man Choi off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles. Choi made the Angels' Opening Day roster out of spring training — his first time ever on a team's active roster — and was designated for assignment twice in 2016 before leaving the organization as a free agent.

Choi played an unmemorable 54 games as an Angel. He hit five home runs, drove in 12, and slashed .170/.271/.339 (68 OPS+) for a team that finished under .500 for the first of what would be nine straight seasons.

In a sign of how things have changed in a decade, Choi appears poised to retire from MLB with more home runs and RBIs than all but one Korean-born player.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported Sunday that Choi is returning to his home country of South Korea to begin 21 months of mandatory military service.

A slugging first baseman with power and patience, Choi enjoyed his best seasons with the Rays from 2018-22. He slashed .245/.352/.431 while hitting 52 home runs and driving in 203 in 414 games as a platoon bat.

In addition to the Angels and Rays, Choi also played for the New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres from 2016-23.

Choi resurfaced last year with the New York Mets but did not see action in the majors after playing 26 games with Triple-A Syracuse, slashing .191/.317/.357. He was released in July and did not sign a new contract for the 2025 season.

According to Topkin, Choi hopes to resume his playing career in the KBO, Korea's top professional league, after his military service is complete.

If Choi has played his final MLB game, he'll retire with 67 career home runs, 238 RBIs, and a .234/.338/.426 slash line in 525 career games. He appeared in an additional 29 postseason games, all with the Rays, slashing .221/.398/.412 with four home runs and six RBIs in 68 at-bats.

Although those are modest career totals in the context of all MLB players, they place Choi among the best hitters ever to emerge from Korea.

Choi's 525 games played are the third-most among all Korean-born players in MLB history, behind only former Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim (540) and outfielder Shin-Soo Choo (1,652).

His 67 home runs, 238 RBIs and 93 doubles rank second only to Choo. His 4.8 Wins Above Replacement, including pitchers, rank eighth all-time among Koreans in MLB.