![‘From Baek Incheon to Lee Seung-yeop’ Shall Choo make the best season for a 39-year-old batter?[SS이슈]](http://image.sportsseoul.com/2021/02/24/news/2021022401001315500091441.jpg "‘From Baek Incheon to Lee Seung-yeop’ Shall Choo make the best season for a 39-year-old batter?[SS이슈]")
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[스포츠서울 윤세호기자] Will he be the best 39-year-old hitter ever?
Everyone looks interestingly. It has to be. It achieved the greatest success among Korean big leaguers, and the class difference is clear even compared to existing foreign hitters. Perhaps the oldest MVP in KBO League may be born. All baseball players are paying attention to Choo Shin-soo, 39, who steps on Korean soil on the 25th.
They are unique from the number they have built up on the world’s best stage. Choo Shin-soo scored 1,652 matches, 1671 hits, 218 home runs, 157 steals, 782 RBIs and 961 points while playing in the ML for 16 years. With a career batting average of 0.275 and an overall OPS of 0.824 (on base rate + slugging rate), you can confirm that it is synonymous with consistency by looking at the record alone. From 2018 to 2020, it raised OPS 0.810 over the three years. It is Choo Shin-soo, who has been active as a high-level hitter even after his mid-30s.
The indicators through Statcast, the official ML tracking system, are also excellent. Although Choo Shin-soo, who stagnated with an OPS of 0.723 last year, was in the top 29% with an average batting speed of 90 miles, the missed swing and strikeout ratio were at least 14% and 31%, respectively. It is a number that proves that he still hits a strong ball and that the pioneer is still alive. In 2019, it ranked in the top 5% with an average batting speed of 91.9 miles, the top 8%, and a hard hit ratio of over 95 miles, 49%.
This is why the 8th ML team gave an offer to Shinsoo Choo. If Choo Shin-soo can stay in normal shape and spend a healthy season in Korea, he may be the most perfect 39-year-old hitter in KBO League history. NC native ace Koo Chang-mo asked Shin-soo Choo, “The most difficult left-handed hitters to deal with in the KBO League until last year were Jeong-hoo Lee and Baek-ho Kang. Lee Jung-hoo has excellent accuracy with a pioneering eye, and Kang Baek-ho has a great sense of overbearing from his long hitting power and swing. Shin-soo Choo is a hitter who combines the strengths of Jeong-hoo Lee and Baek-ho Kang.”
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The best 39-year-old batters in the history of the KBO League were MBC Baek Chun in 1982 (72 games batting average of 0.412 19 homers OPS 1.237), Samsung Julio Franco in 2000 (132 games batting average 0.327 22 homers OPS 0.912), and Samsung Lee Seung-yeop (122 games batting average 0.332). 26 home runs, OPS 0.949), etc. They all boasted their peak skills even at the age of retirement.
The location of Choo Shin-soo in the upcoming season may be similar to these. Considering the slugging power that recorded the most home runs (24 home runs) in a single season two years ago, a hitter-friendly home stadium, and the level difference between ML and KBO league pitchers, he may be the first 39-year-old hitter to record 30 home runs or more. Just as hitters returning to Korea from top leagues such as Lee Seung-yeop, Lee Dae-ho, Kim Hyun-soo, and Park Byeong-ho over the past 10 years have made great strides immediately, Choo Shin-soo also seems to have a high probability of taking a big footprint.