Choi Jeong (born February 28, 1987 in Incheon

Incheon

The Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City...

, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

) is a third baseman who plays for the SK Wyverns

SK Wyverns

SK Wyverns Baseball Club is a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 2000. Based in Incheon, they play their home games at Munhak Baseball Stadium.Their current manager is Man Soo Lee .-History:...

 in Korean professional baseball league

Korea Baseball Organization

The Korea Baseball Organization is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. KBO should not be confused with the Korea Professional Baseball League. KBO was founded in 1981 and has been governing two leagues, Korea Professional Baseball and Futures League since...

.

Amateur career

While playing for Yushin High School in Suwon

Suwon

Suwon is the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. A major city of over a million inhabitants, Suwon lies approximately south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety"....

, Gyeonggi-do

Gyeonggi-do

Gyeonggi-do is the most populous province in South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Suwon. Seoul—South Korea's largest city and national capital—is located in the heart of the province, but has been separately administered as a provincial-level special city since 1946...

, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, he batted 4th and threw in the mid-90s, playing all nine positions as a No.1 starting pitcher and position player.

In July 2004, Choi was selected for the South Korea national junior team as a pitcher and participated in the 2004 World Junior Baseball Championship

World Junior Baseball Championship

The IBAF AAA World Junior Championships is an under-18 international baseball competition sponsored by the International Baseball Federation , which was first held in 1981 in United States...

 held in Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. Choi started South Korea's first match in the preliminary round, and pitched 5 innings and gave up a run, leading his team to a 5-2 victory over Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. South Korea eventually won the bronze medal at the competition.

In December 2004, he was named best high school batter of the year.

Notable international careers

Year	Venue	Competition	Final Result	Note
2004		World Junior Baseball Championship World Junior Baseball Championship The IBAF AAA World Junior Championships is an under-18 international baseball competition sponsored by the International Baseball Federation , which was first held in 1981 in United States...	3rd place

Professional career

Signed by the SK Wyverns

SK Wyverns

SK Wyverns Baseball Club is a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 2000. Based in Incheon, they play their home games at Munhak Baseball Stadium.Their current manager is Man Soo Lee .-History:...

, Choi made his pro league debut in the 2005 season. He was successful as both a starting pitcher

Starting pitcher

In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....

 and a slugger in high school, but finally decided to be a full-time batter for his pro career.

As a third baseman

Third baseman

A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...

, he had several mediocre seasons, but broke out in 2007

2007 Korea Baseball Organization season

The Korea Professional Baseball season was the 26th season in the history of the Korea Professional Baseball. The champions of the league were the SK Wyverns.-Standings:- Korean Series :...

 when he hit 109 hits, 16 home runs and batted .267.

In 2008

2008 Korea Baseball Organization season

The Korea Professional Baseball season is the 27th season in the history of the KBO. The season commenced on March 29-Season Format:*Regular Season: 126 games for each team*Semiplayoff: Regular Season 3rd place vs. Regular Season 4th place - Best of 5...

, Choi helped his team to become 2-time Korean Series

Korean Series

The Korean Series is the championship series of the Korea Baseball Organization. It has been held since the KBO's first season in and is the final series of in the post-season play-offs. From , the winner of the Korean Series goes on to play in the Asia Series....

Champions, and he was finally named the series MVP.