[일문일답] ‘Join SSG’ Choo Shin-soo “I came to Korea to win”

After self-isolation, SSG Landers Choo Shin-soo poses at a press conference after a practice match between the Lotte Giants and SSG Landers held at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the afternoon of the 11th. 2021.3.11/News1 © News1 Reporter Kim Jin-hwan

Choo Shin-soo (39), who joined SSG Landers, has revealed his struggling goal to achieve his first professional championship in Korea.

At a press conference held on the 11th at the Busan Sajik Stadium on the 11th, Choo Shin-soo said, “I wanted to win the major league in the United States, but I couldn’t achieve it.” I thought it would be better to win a championship in Korea that I couldn’t achieve in the United States.”

Choo Shin-soo, who joined SSG for the highest annual salary of 2.7 billion won in the history of Korean professional baseball (KBO), entered the country on the 25th of last month and conducted self-isolation for two weeks until 12:00 noon in Changwon, Gyeongnam. After the self-isolation was lifted, Choo Shin-soo moved to Busan and met with colleagues.

As Choo Shin-soo returns to the domestic stage, a lot of attention is also being drawn to his participation in the Tokyo Olympics. Choo Shin-soo wore the Taegeuk mark and contributed to the 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) runner-up and 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games gold medal.

Shin-soo Choo said, “Thankfully, Director Kim Gyeong-moon first called and called. I’m grateful for asking a doctor. I’m grateful for asking the doctor. I said, “If you can get skill, I asked you to pick it up. I asked you to select the team by looking at the skill, not the name.” It will be helpful to you,” he said.

Choo Shin-soo, who entered the KBO for the first time in his life, said, “I don’t know what kind of performance he will make while playing this season. I have a strong desire to help the team by paying more attention to body care and ending the season in a healthy way.”

The following are the questions and answers of Choo Shin-soo.

After self-isolation, SSG Landers Choo Shin-soo greets players at the team meeting after the practice match between the Lotte Giants and SSG Landers held at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the afternoon of the 11th. 2021.3.11/News1 © News1 Reporter Kim Jin-hwan

-The impressions of meeting the players
▶I was excited. While quarantining, I wanted to hear the personality of the players and meet them as soon as possible. It was a pleasant time that it was difficult to express in words.

-How was quarantine for 2 weeks?
▶The first 3 days were boring and depressed. But if I think differently, I have never been able to stay in one place for two weeks in this world and have no worries, and I thought there would be no future. So I enjoyed it. I also had time to analyze while watching the practice game. Time went slowly until the 4th day, but after that time went by quite quickly.

-What did you feel while watching the practice game?
▶All baseball is the same. I don’t think there is much different. There are many players with good skills in Korean professional baseball. We figured out which players are good pitchers, hitters, and how they play outfield defense.

-What is the difference from the major leagues?
▶ I’m not sure except that the average ball speed drops by about 2~3km. Until now, it was just a practice game, so all of the players are in the stage of getting in shape. It is difficult to grasp the players right now.

-In the US, he was a hitter with a good on-base percentage. Will the style change in Korea?
▶I plan to approach it the same way as when playing baseball in the United States. I will be playing the season with the mindset I did in the United States. The process of preparing for the game and the attitude toward baseball are the same.

-There is a lot of expectation that it will affect juniors
▶I don’t think everything is right what I do. I am just giving an example. I don’t think everything is right because all players have different body shape conditions and talents. Since everyone is a professional player, I think it’s right to know enough about yourself and develop yourself in a way that suits you.

-Visited Sajik Stadium.
▶When I was young, I thought about it. Sajik Stadium is the place where I went in and out like eating while playing baseball in Busan. A lot of people here know. I learned baseball here, and I had a dream. It’s a place that I always came to when I was young, but I came back and felt new and came to Korea.

-How long is your yearning for winning?
▶ After becoming a major league player, I always wanted to win. Winning is the goal everyone wants. It is also my last homework. Having seen the possibility of SSG winning, I decided to join Korea. Some acquaintances said that winning the Major League would be better, but I thought it might be better to do in Korea what I couldn’t do in the United States. Now, it is a situation where you can get closer to the fans. I thought I had more to show, so I decided to go to Korea.

After self-isolation, SSG Landers Choo Shin-soo answers questions from reporters at a press conference after a practice match between the Lotte Giants and SSG Landers held at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the afternoon of the 11th. 2021.3.11/News1 © News1 Reporter Kim Jin-hwan

-How is your condition?
▶The current body is very good and light. However, the situation is different between indoor sports and playgrounds. Tomorrow is a day off, and when you participate in team training the day after tomorrow, the coach will see your body. In consultation with the director, I think that I can compete in the Samsung exhibition (16th and 17th) as soon as possible. In a demonstration game, you have to watch a lot of balls at the plate. It has also been done in the United States.

-What if you say something to Lotte fans?
▶ I understand and think that Busan fans can be disappointed. However, I think it would be okay to show them healthy and good baseball. He started baseball in Busan and raised his dream, but now he is a player in SSG.

-What are your thoughts on participating in the Tokyo Olympics?
▶I spoke with Director Kim Gyeong-moon. First, thank you for asking your doctor. After receiving military service benefits in the Asian Games, he received a lot of criticism for not being selected as the national team. But why would anyone reject it? There was an unavoidable reason. The part I told the director was to ask him to pick him up when he became proficient. I don’t want to be a player that contributes to the team, not because it’s Shin-soo Choo. If it can’t be 100% helpful to the team, it’s right not to go out. I will go out as much as I can if I can.

-What are your goals for this season?
▶I don’t know what kind of performance I will achieve if I play about 140 games healthy. Now that I am older, I have to take care of my body more. Rather than telling me about my performance, I’ll try to help the team in a healthy way until the end of the season.

-I got freedom in two weeks. What do you want to do tomorrow?
▶ First of all, learning faces with the players. Since I left Korea at a young age, I tried to be more careful, so I greeted everyone. The first priority is to get acquainted with the faces of the club officials, starting with the coach.

-Who are the pitchers who are reluctant in KBO?
▶ I studied the pattern of pitchers while watching the practice game. We studied which way to throw the ball, how to get the out count, and how to compete. However, it is a bit difficult to evaluate pitchers by watching a practice match.

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