Il-eon Choi

Il-eon Choi (최일언)
known as Katsuhiko Yamamoto in Japan

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 176 lb.

• School Senshu University
• High School Shimonoseki Commercial High School

• Born July 27, 1961 in Sanyo-Onoda, Yamaguchi, Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Il-eon Choi pitched in the Korea Baseball Organization for 9 years and once led the league in winning percentage.

Choi was signed by the OB Bears in 1984, and he went 9-6 with a 2.84 ERA in his first season. He was 10-13 with a 2.48 ERA in 1985, and he was 5th in ERA (between Sun-hee Lee and Jeong-haeng Kim), 2nd in losses (tied with Seong-man Jeong) and 7th in strikeouts (between Sam-heum Jeong and Dong-soo Park). Choi had his career year in 1986, and he went 19-4 with a 1.58 ERA and led the league in winning percentage. He also ranked 2nd in wins (tied with Dong-won Choi), 3rd in ERA (between Choi and Yong-soo Kim) and 7th in strikeouts (between Geon-u Kim and Jeong-su Kim).

In 1987, Choi was still a solid starter, and he went 14-8 with a 2.56 ERA. He was 4th in wins (tied with Dong-Yol Sun and Choi) and 6th in ERA (between Sang-kun Lee and Hak-kil Yoon). Choi then went 6-4 with a 2.18 ERA in 1988, and he was 3rd in ERA (between Seok-hwan Yun and Lee). However, he slumped to 7-12 with a 4.29 ERA in 1989, and the Bears traded him to the LG Twins for Sang-ho Kim. Choi had a 4.62 ERA in 15 games for the Twins in 1990, then he was released and the Samsung Lions picked him up. He went 9-6 with a 4.47 ERA in 1991, then his ERA was 4.60 in 13 appearances in 1992 and he retired.

After retiring, Choi became the pitching coach for the Bears from 1993 to 2003, for the Hanwha Eagles from 2004 to 2005 and for the SK Wyverns in 2006. He coached SK's minor league team from 2007 to 2010, and he returned to their big club team in the middle of the '10 season. Choi joined the NC Dinos in 2012, and he was their pitching coach until he jumped to the LG Twins in 2019. He also coached for the South Korea national baseball team in the 2019 Premier 12, 2022 Asian Games and 2023 Asia Professional Baseball Championship.

Overall, Choi was 78-57 with a 2.87 ERA, struck out 556 and pitched 1,115 1/3 innings in 9 seasons in the KBO.

Related Sites

• Namu Wiki