South Korean 1st baseman Choi homers in Yanks' debut
NEW YORK — Ji-Man Choi turned on a fastball from Marco Estrada, sent it deep toward the right-field seats and tossed his bat with a look of satisfaction.
The South Korean infielder had become the second player in a week to homer in his New York Yankees debut.
And what a home run it was. The two-run drive would have traveled 457 feet unimpeded, according to MLB’s Statcast.
“As long as it goes over the wall, it all counts the same,” he said after the New York Yankees’ 7-6 loss to Toronto
Choi was brought up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday, a day after the Yankees designated Chris Carter for assignment for the second time this season. Choi started at first base and went 1 for 4, with his homer cut the Yankees’ deficit to 5-4 in the fifth inning.
“That was awesome. You see how far he hit that ball?” said New York teammate Aaron Judge, whose long home runs have defined the Yankees’ season.
Choi nearly singled in the sixth off Aaron Loup.
“He did fine. He had good at-bats,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “He hit a ball hard off a lefty, as well, up the middle. If it’s not kicked by the pitcher, it’s probably another base hit.”
After playing in the minor leagues since 2010, Choi made his major league debut last year with the Los Angeles Angels and hit .170 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 54 games.
“I wasn’t consistently in the lineup and I felt like I never got into a groove,” he said.
Choi was batting .289 with eight homers and 43 RBIs at Scranton when the Yankees cut Carter, who hit .201 with eight homers.
