Choi Dong-won

Choi Dong-won (; May 24, 1958 – September 14, 2011) was a South Korean pitcher in the KBO League who played for the Lotte Giants and Samsung Lions. Choi batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Busan.

Amateur career In 1975, Choi gained national attention at the Champions Invitational Tournament where he threw a complete game no-hitter against 1974 national champion Kyungbuk High School and took another no-hitter into the ninth inning in the team's next game before it was broken up by an infield single. and racked up another victory the very next day in Game 2 coming up on relief in the third inning and throwing seven innings of one-run ball.

Upon graduation from high school, Choi entered Yonsei University and played college baseball from 1977 to 1980. In November 1977, Choi was first called up to the South Korea senior baseball team and played an important role in the team's first world championship at the 1977 Intercontinental Cup held in Nicaragua.

After graduation from Yonsei University in 1981, Choi signed with the Lotte amateur baseball team. In August 1981, Choi competed for South Korea in the 1981 Intercontinental Cup where he posted a 2–0 record and an ERA of 1.32. Choi took a perfect game with 11 strikeouts into the bottom of the ninth inning against Canada in round-robin phase before giving up a single.

The Blue Jays planned on bringing Choi to Blue Jays' spring training for the 1983 season, but the government intervened again.

Choi's 1986 season ended as one of the finest he had ever posted. He posted a 19-14 record and an ERA of 1.55 with 208 strikeouts in 267 innings pitched. Choi pitched a career-high 17 complete games and his 1.55 ERA was the lowest of his eight-season career. He led the league in innings pitched, and was runner-up in wins, ERA and strikeouts (208).

He has pitched one of the finest games of his career in the 1987 season: On May 16, in a 2-2 game against the Haitai Tigers, Choi completed a game of no-decision through 15 innings - he pitched 209 pitches in total. The opposing pitcher Sun Dong-Yeol, also regarded as one of the finest in the league, also completed the game, ending up pitching 232 pitches. This matchup of the two Korean ace pitchers is often considered as one of the best moments in Korean baseball history.

Samsung Lions Prior to the 1989 season, Choi was traded with Kim Yong-chul to the Samsung Lions for Jang Hyo-jo and Kim Si-jin. After the trade, his career quickly spiraled downward. His statistics did not improve while with the Lions. In just over two years with the Lions, he posted a 7–7 record with an ERA of 4.50.

Choi became the first member of the 1,000 strikeout club on May 20, 1990 when he fanned Lee Kwang-Eun of the LG Twins in the fifth inning in Daegu. However, after the 1990 season, Choi announced his retirement from baseball as a player.

Post-playing career Choi Retired in 1990 and then dabbled in politics. The following year, he left Korea to study baseball in New York, did some baseball broadcasting work and acted after he came back to Korea 2 years later. After 2001 he returned to baseball as the minor league manager for the Hanwha Eagles (2007–2009) and supervisor for the KBO (2009–2011).

Death and memorial Choi Dong-Won's number 11 was retired by the Lotte Giants in 2011. Choi died of colon cancer at a hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do on September 14, 2011, aged 53. He was portrayed by Cho Seung-woo in the 2011 film, Perfect Game about the two top pitchers him and his rival Sun Dong-Yeol in the Korea Baseball Organization league during the 1980s.