| Shin-Soo Choo 추신수 |
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Choo at bat for the Indians |
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| Cleveland Indians – No. 17 | |
| Right fielder | |
| Born: July 13, 1982 Busan, South Korea |
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| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| April 21, 2005 for the Seattle Mariners | |
| Career statistics (through 2011 season) |
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| Batting average | .291 |
| Home runs | 67 |
| Runs batted in | 306 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's baseball | ||
| World Baseball Classic | ||
| Silver | 2009 Los Angeles | Team |
| Asian Games | ||
| Gold | 2010 Guangzhou | Team |
| Shin-Soo Choo | |
|---|---|
Choo running to home plate in 2008. |
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| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 추신수 |
| Hanja | 秋信守 |
| Revised Romanization | Chu Sin-su |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ch'u Sin-su |
Shin-Soo Choo (Hangul: 추신수; Hanja: 秋信守; born July 13, 1982) is a South Korean professional baseball outfielder with the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball in the United States.
Choo was selected as the Most Valuable Player and Best Pitcher of the 2000 World Junior Baseball Championship as South Korea won the event. Choo signed a $1.35M contract with the Mariners after the championship and converted to the outfield.
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Choo made his Major League Baseball debut with the Seattle Mariners on April 21, with the Class A affiliate for the Seattle Mariners the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in 2005, but spent most of the 2005 season and the first half of the 2006 season in the minor leagues with the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma Rainiers. Batted .068 in a handful of major league at-bats over two years. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians along with minor leaguer Shawn Nottingham on July 26, 2006, for first baseman Ben Broussard.
Two days after being traded, Choo hit a solo home run against his former club in a 1-0 Indians victory. In 45 games with the Indians, he batted .295 (43 for 146) with 3 home runs and 22 RBI.
He spent the first few weeks of the 2007 regular season with the Buffalo Bisons, a AAA team in the International League affiliated with the Indians, before being called up on April 23, 2007 to take the place of the injured third baseman Andy Marté.[1] He was optioned back to Buffalo on May 3.[2] Choo missed several months of the 2007 season due to injury, and in September 2007 underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.
In the 2008 season, Choo was called up on May 31 and spent the rest of the season with the Indians. He finished the season (after 317 at-bats) with a .309 batting average, 98 hits, 14 home runs, and 66 RBI. His 98 hits and 66 RBI are also a new record for most hits and RBI by a Korean-born player in the MLB. Thanks to a hot September where he put up a .400 batting average, 34 hits, 5 home runs, and 24 RBI, Choo was awarded the American League Player of the Month for September Award.
In February 2009, he signed a one-year contract with the Cleveland Indians.[3] During that season, he broke his own records for home runs, RBIs, stolen bases and hits. On July 3, Choo hit two home runs and drove in a career-high seven runs in the Indians' 15-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics. On October 3, 2009, Choo hit his 20th homer off of Paul Byrd of the Boston Red Sox, thus joining the 20-20 club. He is the first Asian to accomplish this feat in the Major Leagues. He was also the only player in the AL to have a .300 average, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases at the same time. He finished the season with 20 home runs, 21 steals, 86 RBI, and a .300 batting average.
On February 26, 2010, Choo hired baseball super-agent, Scott Boras.[4] Boras is known for his high profile MLB clientele and for his ability to broker huge contracts for his clients. Choo will be eligible for arbitration after the 2010 season and will become a free agent after the 2013 season. Choo hit three home runs in an away game against the Kansas City Royals on September 17, 2010. He first hit a 2-run homer 420 ft to right in the top of the 4th inning. In his next at bat, in the top of the 6th, he hit a towering grand slam to deep center. In the top of the 8th Choo hit a 405 ft solo homer over the right field wall. Choo finished the game a 3-run homer away from the elusive "home run cycle". On September 19, 2010, Choo again reached the 20-20 club of 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases for the second straight year. He also led the AL right fielders in assists with 14.[5]
Choo showed promise in spring training, hitting for a .322 average and smashing 3 Home runs in 19 games. However, Choo's season fell apart quickly. In what was his worst season as a Cleveland Indian, Choo hit for 8 home runs, a .259 average, 12 stolen bases, and 36 RBI while accumulating 78 strike-outs and only 36 Base-on-Balls in 313 At-Bats. On June 24th, Choo was hit by San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnathan Sanchez on his left thumb. The resulting fracture kept him out for most of the season. In mid-September, Choo suffered severe back pains that, on September 15th, put him once again on the DL. Choo was done for the year after that injury.
Early on the morning on Monday, May 4, 2011, Choo was arrested and charged with drunken driving in Sheffield Lake, Ohio.[6] Pulled over by police around 2:25am for due to his vehicle weaving, Choo's blood alcohol content (via Breathalyzer test) was reportedly 0.20%, more than twice the legal limit in the state.[7]
Choo was on the 2009 World Baseball Classic Korean roster. Cleveland allowed Choo to play under the condition that he play only one game or less as an outfielder in the first round, and only in two non-consecutive games of the second round.[8] Cleveland lifted this restriction from the semifinals on, and Choo started as an outfielder in the semifinal match against Venezuela. He helped Korea win 10-2 against Venezuela with a three-run home run against Carlos Silva in the first inning. He also contributed a solo home run in the fifth inning at the finals against Hisashi Iwakuma of Japan, where Korea lost to Japan 3-5.
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