Michael Choice

{{Infobox baseball biography

| name = Michael Choice

| image = Michael Choice at Minute Maid on August 30 2014.jpg

| image_size = 250

| caption = Choice with the Texas Rangers in 2014

| position =Outfielder

| birth_date ={{Birth date and age|1989|11|10}}

| birth_place=Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.

| bats =Right

| throws =Right

| debutleague = MLB

| debutdate = September 2

| debutyear = 2013

| debutteam = Oakland Athletics

| debut2league= KBO

| debut2date = July 29

| debut2year = 2017

| debut2team = Nexen Heroes

| finalleague = MLB

| finaldate = June 24

| finalyear = 2015

| finalteam = Texas Rangers

| final2league= KBO

| final2date = August 5

| final2year = 2018

| final2team = Nexen Heroes

| statleague = MLB

| stat1label = Batting average

| stat1value = .188

| stat2label = Home runs

| stat2value = 9

| stat3label = Runs batted in

| stat3value = 36

| stat2league = KBO

| stat21label = Batting average

| stat21value = .282

| stat22label = Home runs

| stat22value = 28

| stat23label = Runs batted in

| stat23value = 78

| awards =

| teams =

Oakland Athletics ({{mlby|2013}})
Texas Rangers ({{mlby|2014}}–{{mlby|2015}})
Nexen Heroes ({{by|2017}}–{{by|2018}})

}}

Michael Blair Choice (born November 10, 1989) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Choice played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers, and in the KBO League for the Nexen Heroes.

Choice played college baseball at the University of Texas at Arlington before the Athletics made him their first round draft pick in 2010. He made his MLB debut with the Athletics in 2013, and played for the Rangers in 2014 and 2015.

Amateur career

Choice attended Mansfield Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas. He played for the school's baseball team as a catcher and pitcher. He had a .506 batting average during his senior year.{{cite news|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/other-colleges/20100607-UTA-s-Michael-Choice-picked-10th-5763.ece|title=UTA's Michael Choice picked 10th by Oakland in MLB draft|first=Drew|last=Davison|newspaper=Dallas Morning News|date=June 7, 2011|access-date=January 24, 2012}}

Though universities in the Big 12 Conference scouted Choice, he received his only scholarship offer from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), where he played college baseball for the Texas–Arlington Mavericks baseball team of the Southland Conference. Due to the number of catchers and middle infielders on the team, Choice played as a center fielder. As a freshman in 2008, Choice led the team in with a .376 batting average, seven home runs, and 51 runs batted in (RBIs). That year, Choice was named Second Team College Freshman All-American Outfielder and Southland Conference Freshman of the Year. In 2009, he was named Southland Conference All-Star Outfielder. In the summer of 2009, he played for the United States national baseball team in the World Baseball Challenge.

As a junior in 2010, Choice hit .393 with 16 home runs, a .568 on-base percentage, and a .704 slugging percentage. He was named First Team College All-American Outfielder,{{cite web|url=http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/awards/all-america-teams/2010/2610201.html|title=2010 College All-America First Team |first=Aaron|last=Fitt|publisher=Baseball America|work=BaseballAmerica.com|date=June 16, 2010|access-date=January 24, 2012}} Southland Conference All-Star Outfielder, and Southland Conference Player of the Year. He was also named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the best amateur baseball player of the year. In his three years at UTA, Choice batted .392 and hit a school-record 34 home runs.

Professional career

=Oakland Athletics=

File:Michael Choice on June 29, 2015.jpg in 2015]]

The Oakland Athletics selected Choice with their first round pick, tenth overall, in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. Choice was the first UTA player to be drafted in the first round, and the highest selection in Southland Conference history, tying Ben Sheets of Louisiana-Monroe, who was selected tenth overall in 1999.{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/dallas/mlb/news/story?id=5262995|title=Oakland makes UTA player its Choice|publisher=ESPN|work=ESPN Dallas / Fort Worth|first=Randy|last=Jennings|date=June 8, 2010|access-date=January 24, 2012}}

Choice signed with the Athletics on July 30 for a $2 million signing bonus.{{cite news|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/print.jsp?ymd=20100730&content_id=12812968¬ebook_id=12814382&vkey=notebook_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb|title=A's announce agreement with Choice|first=Jane|last=Lee|website=MLB.com|publisher=Major League Baseball Advanced Media|date=July 30, 2010|access-date=January 24, 2012}} That season, he played for the Arizona League Athletics of the Rookie-level Arizona League and Vancouver Canadians of the Single–A Northwest League. In 2011, he played for the Stockton Ports of the High–A California League, where he batted .283 with 30 home runs, along with 82 RBIs. Playing center field for the Midland RockHounds of the Double–A Texas League, he batted .264 with six home runs and 43 RBI in the first 69 games of the season, as he was named to appear in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game.{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120621&content_id=33687816&vkey=news_oak&c_id=oak|title=A's sending two prospects to Futures Game|first=Jane|last=Lee|work=MLB.com|date=June 21, 2012|access-date=February 19, 2013}} His season ended prematurely due to a broken hand suffered when he was hit by a pitch in July.{{cite web|last=Parker |first=John |url=http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120724&content_id=35481570&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008133635/http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120724&content_id=35481570&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 8, 2012 |title=A's prospect Choice out for season: Fractured hand ends slugger's campaign on 16-game streak |work=MiLB.com News |date=July 24, 2012 |access-date=March 20, 2013}}

Choice spent the 2013 season with the Sacramento River Cats of the Triple–A Pacific Coast League (PCL), where he batted .302 with 14 home runs and 89 RBI in 132 games. The Athletics selected his contract on September 1, 2013.{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130901&content_id=59226612¬ebook_id=59227022&vkey=notebook_oak&c_id=oak |title=Choice among A's callups as rosters expand |first=Jeff |last=Kirshman|work=MLB.com|date=September 1, 2013 |access-date=September 2, 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/athletics/ci_23994686/oakland-add-jemile-weeks-michael-choice-roster|title=Oakland A's add Jemile Weeks, Michael Choice to roster|work=San Jose Mercury News|first=Steve|last=Corkran|date=September 1, 2013|access-date=September 1, 2013}} He made his major league debut the following day.{{cite web|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/athletics/ci_23998923/oakland-prospect-michael-choice-debuts-against-hometown-team|title=Oakland A's prospect Michael Choice debuts against hometown team|first=John|last=Hickey|work=San Jose Mercury News|date=September 2, 2013|access-date=September 5, 2013}}

=Texas Rangers=

On December 3, 2013, the Athletics traded Choice and infielder Chris Bostick to the Texas Rangers for outfielder Craig Gentry and pitcher Josh Lindblom.{{cite web|url=http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/12/the-texas-rangers-trade-craig-gentry-josh-lindblom-to-as-for-chris-bostick-michael-choice.html/ |title=Texas Rangers trade Craig Gentry, Josh Lindblom to Oakland Athletics for Chris Bostick, Michael Choice |work=Dallas Morning News |date=December 3, 2013 |access-date=December 3, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205173733/http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/12/the-texas-rangers-trade-craig-gentry-josh-lindblom-to-as-for-chris-bostick-michael-choice.html/ |archive-date=December 5, 2013 }}{{cite news|last1=Durrett|first1=Richard|title=Rangers trade for Michael Choice|url=https://www.espn.com/dallas/mlb/story/_/id/10073840/texas-rangers-trade-craig-gentry-oakland-athletics-part-four-player-trade|access-date=July 8, 2014|work=ESPN.com|date=December 3, 2013}} Choice made the Rangers' Opening Day roster.{{cite web|url=http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/03/homegrown-michael-choice-makes-rangers-history-on-opening-day.html/|title=Homegrown Michael Choice makes Rangers history on opening day|work=Dallas Morning News|access-date=December 12, 2014}} He hit his first career home run against the Houston Astros off of Kevin Chapman, becoming the first Rangers' player to hit his first career home run in a pitch-hit at-bat.{{cite news|last1=Sullivan|first1=T.R.|title=Choice home run makes history|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140413&content_id=71926476¬ebook_id=71930600&c_id=tex|access-date=July 8, 2014|work=MLB.com|date=April 13, 2014}} Struggling with a .177 batting average, the Rangers demoted Choice to the Round Rock Express of the PCL in July. The Rangers promoted Choice back to the major leagues in August.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/blog/dallas/texas-rangers/post/_/id/4914097/extra-bases-michael-choice-finds-his-swing|title=Extra Bases: Michael Choice finds his swing|work=ESPN.com|date=August 30, 2014|access-date=December 12, 2014}} His season ended when he strained his hamstring in September; he batted .182 for the Rangers.{{cite web|url=http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/09/texas-rangers-officially-rule-michael-choice-out-for-remainder-of-season.html/|title=Texas Rangers officially rule Michael Choice out for remainder of season|work=Dallas Morning News|access-date=December 12, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213012747/http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/09/texas-rangers-officially-rule-michael-choice-out-for-remainder-of-season.html/|archive-date=December 13, 2014}}

Choice competed in spring training to become the Rangers' starting left fielder, but he struggled and was reassigned to minor league camp during the competition.{{cite web|url=http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/03/michael-choice-plan-after-demotion-is-to-get-back-feeling-comfortable-again.html/|title=Michael Choice: Plan after demotion is 'to get back feeling comfortable again'|first=Gerry|last=Fraley|work=Dallas Morning News|date=March 17, 2015|access-date=March 20, 2015}} Choice spent the 2015 season with Round Rock, and was designated for assignment on August 18.{{cite web|url=http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/08/texas-rangers-add-of-venable.html/|title=Texas Rangers get outfield depth with addition of Will Venable|first=Gerry|last=Fraley|work=Dallas Morning News|date=August 18, 2015|access-date=August 18, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821195513/http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/08/texas-rangers-add-of-venable.html/|archive-date=August 21, 2015}}

=Cleveland Indians=

The Rangers traded Choice to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for cash considerations on August 21, 2015, and the Indians subsequently optioned him to the Columbus Clippers of the Triple–A International League.{{cite web|url=http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2015/08/cleveland_indians_acquire_outf_1.html|title=Cleveland Indians acquire outfielder Michael Choice from Texas Rangers|first=Zack|last=Meisel|work=The Plain Dealer|date=August 21, 2015|access-date=August 21, 2015}} Choice finished the 2015 season with Columbus, and was designated for assignment on November 25.{{cite web|url=http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2015/11/cleveland_indians_acquire_righ_1.html |title=Cleveland Indians acquire right-hander Kirby Yates from Tampa Bay for cash |publisher=cleveland.com |date=November 25, 2015 |access-date=August 7, 2018}} He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Columbus on November 30.

Choice was invited to 2016 spring training as a non–roster player. He spent the year with Columbus, playing in 71 games and batting .246/.304/.456 with 14 home runs and 39 RBI. Choice elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2016.{{Cite web|title=Minor League Free Agents 2016|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/minor-league-free-agents-2016/|access-date=August 3, 2024|website=baseballamerica.com|language=en}}

=Baltimore Orioles=

On February 15, 2017, Choice signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles.{{Cite web|title=Minor MLB Transactions: 2/15/17|url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/02/minor-mlb-transactions-21517.html|access-date=June 18, 2024|website=mlbtraderumors.com|language=en}} He played in 11 games for the Triple–A Norfolk Tides, going 1–for–26 (.039) with two RBI. Choice was released by the Orioles organization on May 2.{{Cite web|title=Minor MLB Transactions: 5/6/17|url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/05/minor-mlb-transactions-5617.html|access-date=June 18, 2024|website=mlbtraderumors.com|language=en}}

=Milwaukee Brewers=

On May 5, 2017, Choice signed a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. He played for the Biloxi Shuckers of the Double–A Southern League.{{cite web |url=https://www.milb.com/milb/news/michael-choice-tees-off-three-times-for-biloxi-shuckers-241620482 |title=Brewers' Choice tees off three times |website=Minor League Baseball |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711104245/https://www.milb.com/milb/news/michael-choice-tees-off-three-times-for-biloxi-shuckers/c-241620482/t-185364810 |archive-date=July 11, 2017}}

=Nexen Heroes=

On July 22, 2017, the Brewers sold Choice's contract to the Nexen Heroes of the KBO League.{{cite web|last=Calcaterra |first=Craig |url=http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2017/07/21/brewers-sell-michael-choices-contract-to-the-nexen-heroes/ |title=Brewers sell Michael Choice's contract to the Nexen Heroes – HardballTalk |publisher=Mlb.nbcsports.com |date=July 21, 2017 |access-date=August 7, 2018}} Choice re-signed with the Heroes for $600,000 on November 24, 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/11/michael-choice-jake-brigham-re-sign-with-kbos-nexen-heroes.html|title=Michael Choice, Jake Brigham Re-Sign With KBO's Nexen Heroes|last=Adams|first=Steve|work=mlbtraderumors.com|date=November 24, 2017|access-date=November 24, 2017}} Choice batted .307 with 17 home runs in 46 games for Nexen, and was re–signed for the 2018 season. He batted .258 with 17 home runs in 96 games, and Nexen released Choice on August 7, 2018.{{cite web|date=August 7, 2018 |url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2018/08/07/0200000000AEN20180807008700315.html |title=Nexen Heroes replace struggling hitter with ex-big leaguer Jerry Sands |publisher=English.yonhapnews.co.kr |access-date=August 7, 2018}}

=Diablos Rojos del México=

On August 16, 2018, Choice signed with the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League.{{cite web|title=Michael Choice y Manny Acosta, nuevos refuerzos escarlatas|url=https://diablos.com.mx/noticia.php?id=6273|language=es|date=August 16, 2018|access-date=August 16, 2018}} He became a free agent following the season.

=Tigres de Quintana Roo=

On April 19, 2019, Choice signed with the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League. He was released on May 31, 2019.

=Algodoneros de Unión Laguna=

On June 29, 2019, Choice signed with the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League.

=Colorado Rockies=

On December 17, 2019, Choice signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/minor-league-transactions-nov-3-dec-17-2019/|title=Minor League Transactions: Nov 3 - Dec 17|work=Baseball America|first=Chris|last=Hilburn-Trenkle|date=January 3, 2019|access-date=January 3, 2019}} Choice was released by the Rockies organization on May 30, 2020.

=Algodoneros de Unión Laguna (second stint)=

On April 8, 2021, Choice signed with the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League.{{Cite web |title=MiLB Stats {{!}} MiLB Team Stats |url=https://www.milb.com/mexican/stats |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=Minor League Baseball |language=en}} Choice hit .281/.369/.456 with 5 RBI in 16 games, but was released on June 10.

=Acereros de Monclova=

On June 18, 2021, Choice signed with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League.[https://www.milb.com/player/michael-choice-574831 "Michael Choice Stats, Highlights, Bio"], milb.com. In 3 games, he went 1 for 12 with no home runs or RBI. On June 23, he was placed on the inactive list, and he was later released on August 8.

=Lexington Legends=

On August 9, 2021, Choice signed with the Lexington Legends of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.{{Cite web |date= |title=Atlantic League Professional Baseball: Transactions |url=https://www.atlanticleague.com/stats/transactions/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813095434/https://www.atlanticleague.com/stats/transactions/ |archive-date=2021-08-13 |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=atlanticleague.com}} In 36 games, he slashed .328/.420/.518 with 1 home run and 6 RBI before he was released on September 17.

Coaching career

On September 28, 2023, Choice was announced as part of MLB's diversity pipeline scout and coaching development program.{{Cite web|title=Choice, Ray among former players growing in Advancing Bases program|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/former-players-network-with-mlb-leaders-through-advancing-bases|access-date=June 17, 2024|website=mlb.com|language=en}}

Personal

Choice was born in Fort Worth, Texas. His father, Charles, worked as an engineer for Bell Helicopter, and his mother, Charea, worked as a schoolteacher.

Choice married his girlfriend, Jade, in October 2012.{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130225&content_id=41994570&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb |title=Former A's top pick Michael Choice settling in at camp |first=Jane|last=Lee|work=MLB.com|date=February 25, 2013 |access-date=March 20, 2013}} The couple have two children.{{cite web|url=http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/michael-choice-is-right-at-home-in-round-rock-arli/nmPbq/|title=Michael Choice is right at home in Round Rock, Arlington|first=Brad|last=Stutzman|work=Austin American-Statesman|date=May 27, 2015 |access-date=August 18, 2015}} {{-}}

References

External links

{{Baseballstats|mlb=574831|espn=31959|br=c/choicmi01|fangraphs=11376|brm=choice001mic}}

[https://mykbostats.com/players/1627-Michael-Choice-Nexen-Heroes KBO League statistics]
{{cite web|url=http://www.utamavs.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/choice_michael00.html|title=Player Bio: Michael Choice|work=UT Arlington Official Athletic Site}}
{{Twitter}}

Category:1989 births

Category:Living people

Category:Acereros de Monclova players

Category:African-American baseball players

Category:Algodoneros de Unión Laguna players

Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada

Category:American expatriate baseball players in Mexico

Category:American expatriate baseball players in South Korea

Category:Arizona League Athletics players

Category:Baseball players from Fort Worth, Texas

Category:Biloxi Shuckers players

Category:Charros de Jalisco players