Chicago Cubs Beginning in , Choi spent four seasons in the
Cubs minor league system and was considered to be one of the organization's top prospects. On September 3, 2002, Choi made his Major League debut against the
Milwaukee Brewers and became the first Korean-born
position player to play in the Major Leagues. In , Choi played in 80 games, hitting .218 with eight
home runs and 28
RBI. He was the
Opening Day starter for the Cubs, but suffered a
concussion following a collision with teammate
pitcher Kerry Wood on June 7, 2003. Choi went on the
disabled list, and never reclaimed his starting role. After the season, he was traded to the
Florida Marlins for
Derrek Lee.
Florida Marlins With his new team, Choi began the season impressively batting .295 with nine
home runs and 18 RBIs in April. But his stay with the Marlins was a brief one. On July 30, he was traded to the
Los Angeles Dodgers along with
Brad Penny and minor league pitcher
Bill Murphy for
Paul Lo Duca,
Guillermo Mota, and
Juan Encarnación.
Los Angeles Dodgers Choi went on to bat only .161 for the remainder of the 2004 season with the Dodgers, leading many to criticize the Dodgers'
sabermetrician general manager
Paul DePodesta for acquiring him.
Sabermetric baseball analysts claimed that Choi did not get enough playing time because of bias from the Dodgers' old school managerial style, which kept rookies on the bench for extended periods of time.
Jim Tracy reportedly said that he did not start Choi on one particular day because
Adam Eaton was pitching and Eaton has a unique arm angle in his pitching delivery. Choi's production picked up during the 2005 season as he played in 133 games that season and posted a .253 batting average, while hitting 15 home runs and driving in 42 runs. The highlight of Choi's season came during a weekend series against the
Minnesota Twins from June 10–12, when he accomplished the rare feat of hitting six home runs in a three-game series. However, during the – off-season, DePodesta was fired by Dodgers owner
Frank McCourt, and new general manager
Ned Colletti signed
Nomar Garciaparra to be the everyday first baseman. Rather than keeping Choi on the bench or blocking prospect
James Loney's path to the big leagues, Colletti decided to waive Choi during
spring training; he was subsequently claimed by the
Boston Red Sox.
Post-Dodgers Choi represented South Korea in the
World Baseball Classic, in which his most significant contribution was hitting a three-run pinch-hit
home run against Team USA. Choi spent the entire 2006 season with
Pawtucket. He was
designated for assignment August 1, 2006, while on Pawtucket's
disabled list and removed from Boston's 40-man roster. Choi cleared waivers on August 11, 2006, and was outrighted to Pawtucket. On December 1, 2006, Choi signed a minor league contract with the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays where he was given a shot to be Tampa Bay's everyday first baseman. Choi decided to return home after failing to make Tampa Bay's 40-man roster after spring training.
Kia Tigers On May 14, , Choi signed with the
Kia Tigers in the
Korea Baseball Organization. In his KBO debut game, He went 0-for-5 against the
Doosan Bears. Choi finished his first KBO season with a .337
batting average, 7
home runs and 45
RBI, playing in 52 games. Choi began the season in a slump due to a waist injury, finishing the month of April with a batting average of just .208 and going 25-for-120 to close out the month, and was then demoted to the Korean minor league affiliate of the Kia Tigers. In July, he returned to the 26-man first-team roster, but finished the season with disappointing offensive numbers, batting .229 with only 6
home runs and 22
RBI. In , Choi broke out offensively and became a star, rebounding from his subpar year. He helped lift the Tigers into title contention, batting .308, blasting a pro career-best 33
home runs, leading the KBO league in
runs with 98 and helping them win the 2009 KBO regular season. Choi was the runner-up in
home runs (33),
RBI (100), and
walks (103), 4th in
slugging percentage (.589), 6th in
on-base percentage (.435), and 11th in
batting average (.308). Choi and
Kim Sang-hyeon hit 69 home runs, and the two together were called the "CK Cannon". On December 11, 2009, he obtained his first
KBO League Golden Glove Award nomination for his play at 1st base. In , Choi had a .286 batting average, with 21
home runs, 84
RBIs, and drew 81
walks. Choi received an all-star selection and also participated in the home run derby, where he set the record for longest home run. In , Choi was limited to 70 games due to injury. He hit .281, with 9 home runs and 37 RBI. In , Choi hit .252, with 7 home runs and 42 RBI in another injury-plagued season. In , Choi hit .258, with 11 home runs and 42 RBI. After the season, he underwent knee surgery. ==Achievements==