Tampa Bay, the second-ranked wild card player in the American League, beat Toronto 6-2 in an away match at Rogers Center. He then reduced his Magic Number "2" all at once as Cleveland, the third-ranked wild card player, lost to Washington 2-8 on the same day.
This marks Tampa Bay's first postseason appearance in six years since 2013 and will play a wild-card decision-making match that will determine the team that plays in the league division series with Oakland.
Choi Ji-man didn't play in the match,aftermath of a bruise on his left foot. The Tampa Bay club however celebrated its return to the fall party by posting a photo on official Twitter account of Choi Ji-man's hitting home run against the New York Yankees and jumping into the arms of teammates waiting at home.
For Choi, it is his first postseason appearance in 10 years in the U.S. Choi Ji-man, who signed with Seattle in July 2009 while attending Dongsan High School in Incheon, made his first big league appearance in 2016 when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. He then worked for the Yankees in 2017 and the Milwaukee in 2018 before moving to Tampa Bay in June that year to become a major player.
This season, he posted a batting average of 0.257, 18 home runs and 26 RBIs, and hit two crucial home runs helping Tampa Bay advance to the wild card final.