Choi Hee-seop

Choi Hee-seop is a pioneer I have real time for. Born in Yeongam County, South Korea, the 196cm first baseman became the first Korean-born position player in Major League Baseball, suiting up for the Cubs, Marlins and Dodgers before returning to play in the KBO. That towering frame brought genuine power, but what stays with me is the courage it took to cross an ocean into a different language and culture and compete. Korean players succeeding abroad feels normal now, yet someone had to open that door first, and the hardship of that generation shouldn't be underestimated. He's a trailblazer who reminds me there's real value simply in daring to try.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Name (English)

Choi Hee-seop

Name (Japanese)

崔煕渉

Reading

ちぇ・ひそぷ

Born

March 16, 1979 (age 47)

Origin

Yeongam County, South Jeolla, South Korea

Height

196 cm

Occupation

baseball player

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Pisces / Goat

University

Korea University

• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hee-seop%20Choi
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B4%94%E7%85%95%E6%B8%89
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q482769

Tags

• South Jeolla
• baseball player

Last updated

September 18, 2026

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.