Choo Shin-soo, the most successful South Korean hitter in Major League Baseball (MLB) history, appeared in his final regular-season game on home soil Monday.

The 42-year-old outfielder and designated hitter for the SSG Landers stepped in as a pinch hitter for Ha Jae-hoon in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Kiwoom Heroes in their final regular-season contest of the 2024 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season. After being introduced, Choo was greeted by a thunderous ovation from a sellout crowed of 23,000 at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, just west of Seoul. Choo took off his helmet and bowed to fans around the stadium, and did the same toward the visitors’ dugout on the third base side.

Against rookie reliever Kim Yeon-ju, Choo swung on a 1-1 fastball and grounded out to second base. As Choo returned to the dugout, he was greeted by his teammates as if he had just homered, and his manager Lee Sung-yong presented him with a bouquet of flowers.

Choo announced in December last year that he
would hang up his spikes after the 2024 season. He has been hobbled by shoulder pains all year and had been limited to only 77 games of the team’s 143 games before Monday.

The Landers beat the Heroes 7-2 to set up a tiebreaker game Tuesday against the KT Wiz to determine who will advance to the wild card round of the postseason. Manager Lee said before Monday’s game that Choo is questionable for the postseason. His pinch-hit appearance Monday was mostly ceremonious with the outcome all but determined.

Choo signed with the Landers in 2021 and became the oldest player in KBO history to tally at least 20 home runs and 20 steals in a season. The following year, Choo helped the Landers to the Korean Series title.

This year, Choo set records as the oldest position player in the South Korean league to appear in a game, get a hit, hit a home run and steal a base.

Choo offered to take a league-minimum salary of 30 million won (US$23,000) this year and to donate all of that to charities.

For his KBO career, Choo h
ad 54 home runs, 205 RBIs and 51 steals in 439 games. Long known for his discerning eye at the plate, Choo had a robust .388 career on-base percentage entering Monday’s finale.

Choo’s KBO career was preceded by 16 seasons in MLB, spent with the Seattle Mariners, the Cleveland Indians (currently Guardians), the Cincinnati Reds and the Texas Rangers.

Choo signed with the Mariners in 2000 as a pitcher out of high school but soon converted to an outfielder.

Choo owns virtually all MLB hitting records for a South Korean player, including games played, home runs, RBIs and steals, with no one else from the country having matched his productivity and longevity.

Choo belted 218 home runs — which had been an MLB record by an Asian-born hitter until the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani passed him earlier this month — and knocked in 782 runs in 1,652 games. He swiped 157 bags, and enjoyed three seasons of at least 20 homers and 20 steals.

In 2013 with the Reds, Choo had 21 homers, 20 steals, 1
12 walks and 107 runs, becoming the 12th player in MLB history with those numbers.

As a Ranger two years later, Choo became the first South Korean player to hit for the cycle in the majors. And in 2018, Choo set a Rangers franchise record by reaching base in 52 consecutive games, and earned his first and only All-Star selection.

Choo was known for his generosity while in MLB — once giving $1,000 to each of 191 minor league players in the Rangers system in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic hit — and brought the same spirit to the KBO. He has donated over 3 billion won during his time in the South Korean league.

Choo was also an outspoken critic against outdated ballpark facilities in the KBO, and prompted changes at both his home park and other stadiums in the league.

Choo turned down the Landers’ offer of a retirement ceremony this year, saying he didn’t want to be a distraction while the team was fighting for its postseason life down the stretch. The Landers will hold a ceremony to recognize Choo’s care
er sometime next year.

Source: Yonhap News Agency