Shin-soo Choo shows off his on-base ability in MLB, pay attention to KBO league line’Geopo’
Shinsegae Choo Shin-soo vs. Lotte Lee Dae-ho, face-to-face from the opening game
Choo Shin-soo (39), who has recorded the most home runs for Asian players in the MLB, will return to Korea after 20 years.
Shin-soo Choo won the Best Player (MVP) and Best Pitcher Awards at the 2000 Edmonton World Youth Baseball Championships in Canada, with a fast ball exceeding 150 km/h.
The left-handed fastball pitcher, who struck out 32 strikeouts in 18 innings, shook the hearts of the Seattle Mariners.
After graduating from Busan High School, Choo Shin-soo signed a contract with Seattle for $1.37 million in 2001 and got on a plane to the United States.
After bringing in Choo Shin-soo, Seattle invited him to change to batter. He also paid attention to his ability as a pitcher, but because he saw the potential of a ‘5 tool player’.
Choo Shin-soo showed a rapid growth rate after turning to a hitter as expected by the club.
Choo Shin-soo accumulated his skills by eating tears-wet bread in the minor leagues for four years, and finally debuted in the big leagues in 2005.
However, in front of him was a wall called Ichiro Suzuki, a Japanese “superstar”. The two had the same left-handed batter and the same position in the right field.
To save Choo’s offense, Seattle recommended Ichiro, who has a quick foot, to surrender the position of right fielder to Choo and move to center field, but Ichiro refused at once.
For this reason, Choo Shin-soo was traded to the Cleveland Indians during the 2006 season. For Shin-soo Choo, it became a phone call.
After becoming a full-time major leaguer in Cleveland, he went through the Cincinnati Reds and signed a seven-year mega contract with the Texas Rangers in late 2013, worth $130 million.
In the first year of the contract, the 2014 season batting average was 0.242, 13 homers, and 40 RBIs and heard the sound of “battering”, but the following year, he regained the reputation of the “on-base machine” with an on-base ratio (0.375), which was close to 40%.
In particular, on July 22 of that year, he wrote a cycling hit that was difficult to do once in his life (a batter hitting all singles, doubles, triples, and home runs in one game).
Choo Shin-soo’s skills were in full bloom as he entered his mid-30s.
In 2018, when he was 36 years old, he succeeded in 52 consecutive appearances (May 14-July 21), a new record for Asian players and the most active player, and enjoyed the joy of being selected as the first All-Star in his debut.
Choo Shin-soo has built the most brilliant career as a Korean player in the major leagues.
He played in 1,652 major league games, hitting 0.275, hitting 1,671, 218 home runs, 782 RBI, 961 points, and 157 stealing bases.
Among the major leaguers from Asia, he achieved 20 home runs and 20 steals, the first cycling hit and symbol of the Hotajun tribe, three times in total.
In addition, he was the only Asian major leaguer to achieve 200 home runs in total, and was the first Korean major leaguer to be nominated for MVP in 2010.
In 2018, it was the first Korean hitter to be selected as the Major League All-Star.
Choo Shin-soo’s greatest strength is his excellent on-base ability, with a personal on-base ratio of 0.3765.
He has his own strike zone and has excellent body vision, so he filters out ambiguous balls and swings only on certain balls.
However, the situation is different now that he has liquidated his life at MLB and returned to Korea.
A head of a domestic club, who requested anonymity, assured that, “If Shinsoo Choo’s skill, he will be a hitter and more than 30 homers from the first year of his return.”
Choo Shin-soo played in the 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, but his long hitting power was hard to find comparable within the national team.
Unfortunately, the first match for Shinsegae Group E-Mart, which has recruited Shinsegae Choo, is Lotte Giants. The two teams will play the opening game in Incheon on April 3.
Shin-soo Choo made his debut in the KBO League against his hometown team and against Lee Dae-ho, a lifelong rival and friend, Lotte’s key hitter.
Choo Shin-soo signed an annual salary of 2.7 billion won with Shinsegae, breaking Lee Dae-ho’s highest annual salary record (2.5 billion won) in the KBO League.
Choo’s return to Korea is expected to attract tremendous attention from the first edition.