Major League players may not be able to use their facilities or have any interaction with the coaches and staff of their teams because if the lockout, which is now in the third day, but it doesn’t mean that they can’t get creative in the ways they get their work in.
Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi is back in South Korea for the off-season, and took part Saturday in a charity baseball game. After switch-hitting for a period in 2020, he went back to hitting completely left-handed in games, but broke out the right-handed swing for this event.
Breaking news. Ji-Man choi tries switch-hitting again in this offseason. #Rays🤞(thread) pic.twitter.com/QrdgKLAO45
— Homin Lee (@Homein22) December 4, 2021
Moreover, the 30-year-old got to do something he has never done in the big leagues: show off his skills on the mound. While Choi may not be the next Brett Phillips, an outing like this could convince Rays manager Kevin Cash to give him an opportunity in a game that is well out of hand.
Moreover, he is ready to give us @Brett_Phillips8 level excitement. #Rays pic.twitter.com/snT06wkxBC
— Homin Lee (@Homein22) December 4, 2021
Thank you to Rays fan Ho-Min Lee for the videos.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
