Korean Baseball legend and former MLB All-Star Shin-soo Choo made his final regular season KBO appearance on Sunday in the SSG Landers 7-2 victory over the Kiwoom heroes.
The 42-year-old Choo received a standing ovation from a crowd of 23,000 during a pinch-hit appearance in the bottom of the eighth inning. Choo ultimately grounded out to second base before receiving another round of cheers from the fans.
2813 games (#MLB #MiLB and #KBO combined) later, Shin-soo Choo retired from professional baseball tonight. Here is a video of his final at bat. Congrats! 👏🙏⚾️🇰🇷🇺🇸 #StraightUpTX #ATOBTTR #ForTheLand #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/bXzoEfNgMj
— Daniel Kim 대니얼 김 (@DanielKimW) September 30, 2024
In his fourth season since returning to Korea from MLB, Choo appeared in only 77 games, mostly as a designated hitter. Though not the same hitter he was in his prime, Choo remained productive, posting a .282 average with a .375 on-base percentage.
One of the most consistent and underrated players in baseball during his peak, Choo ended his 16-year MLB career with a .377 on-base percentage and reached the 20-home-run plateau seven times. Though best remembered for his time with the then Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, Choo’s best campaign came during his lone season with the Cincinnati Reds in 2013. The right fielder posted a .285/.423/.462 line with 21 home runs and 20 stolen bases, helping the Reds make the playoffs and earning a 7-year/$130 deal from the Rangers. Choo holds the distinction of becoming the first Korean player to hit a home run during an MLB postseason game, and his 218 home runs were the most by an Asian-born player until Shohei Ohtani passed it this season.
Shin-Soo Choo goes deep for the 200th time. 👏
(MLB x @BudweiserUSA) pic.twitter.com/at0aMjfclF
— MLB (@MLB) June 5, 2019
Though his Landers advanced to a one-game tiebreaker game against the KT Wiz for the last postseason spot, manager Lee Song-yang said Choo would be questionable for any playoff games. The Landers will likely honor Choo’s retirement with a ceremony next year.
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WBN KBO: https://worldbaseball.com/league/south-korea/
Photo Credit: Outfilder Shin-Soo Choo#17 of SSG Landers bats. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)
