“It Feels Like I’m in High School Again”: Choi Ji-man Enters KBO Draft After 67 MLB Home Runs

Choi Ji-man said preparing for the Korea Baseball Organization’s rookie draft made him feel like a high school student again. The 35-year-old former Major League Baseball player was the biggest attraction at the Sept. 1 tryout in Goyang.

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With the draft ahead, I feel like I’m a high school student again.

Twenty players took part in the session, including six pitchers and 14 position players with experience in independent leagues, university baseball in South Korea and abroad, and American professional baseball. They completed hitting, fielding, baserunning and pitching tests at indoor and outdoor facilities.

Choi has 67 career MLB home runs. The New York Mets released him in 2023, and he joined the Ulsan Wales in April this year. He has played in the Futures League, South Korea’s second tier, since June. Scouts view him as a likely draft pick and are watching whether a team will select him in the first round.

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The draft order really doesn’t matter to me. Student players should be selected in the first round.

One scout said Choi’s major league experience put him on a different level from the rookies and made him an attractive option for a team seeking an immediate contributor. Choi rejected that focus on draft order. “The draft order really doesn’t matter to me,” he said, adding that student players should be selected in the first round. He said he hoped to be picked around the eighth round because younger players deserved the larger signing bonuses, while he would not receive one.

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I don’t view Ulsan as a team I’m just passing through. Our goal is to win the championship no matter what.

Choi also said he wanted to remain with Ulsan, whose playoff schedule could prevent him from attending the draft. He said he did not view the club as a temporary stop and wanted to win the championship. Infielder Choi Byung-yong, 24, also drew attention after playing in the San Diego Padres’ minor-league system through last year. He was not selected in the 2021 KBO draft, later attended an American university, and was chosen by San Diego in the 20th round of the 2023 MLB draft before his release. He played in an American independent league this year and said he hoped to hear his name called on draft day.

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I think I showed 100 percent and have no regrets.