Rays' Choi Ji-min collects 3 hits in season debut

Coming off a knee surgery, Tampa Bay Rays' Choi Ji-man has punctuated his long-awaited season debut with a three-hit performance.

Choi batted 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run against the New York Mets at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Sunday (local time), contributing to a 7-1 victory. Choi had missed the first 41 games of the season following arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on March 31.

Choi was activated from the 10-day injured list Saturday but waited another day before playing his first game of 2021. He experienced some soreness in the surgically repaired knee, which threatened to delay his return, and the Rays said Choi's health will require monitoring throughout the season.

Batting third and playing first base, Choi hit a two-out single in his first trip to the plate in the bottom of the first.

He singled again in the fourth inning and capped off his productive day with an RBI double in the eighth.

"I saw the ball really well today, and I felt great out there," Choi said in his postgame Zoom media conference. "I want to thank the fans for their support. I played hard because I wanted to give something back to them. It was great to play in front of so many fans at home."

Choi said he woke up in the morning feeling all giddy and excited about playing for the first time this season and added, "I am just happy to have helped the team win."

In his pregame interview, Choi said lingering pains are part of the recovery process and attributed them to long plane rides during his rehab.

The Rays improved to 23-19 with Sunday's win, two games out of first place in the tight American League East race.

They lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in last year's World Series, with Choi playing a key role with his timely hits and impressive defensive plays at first base.

"He's been a big part of our team here the last couple seasons, and we know when he's right, he can do some special things at the plate," manager Kevin Cash said of Choi. "He played tremendous defense for us in the postseason. He's another guy that can help really shape our roster." (Yonhap)