“I must be getting older, I feel it a lot this year.”
Choo Shin-soo (41-SSG Landers), who recently suffered from calf pain, said while looking at the ground. He is currently playing in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) as the “oldest player” after having the “best career” as a Korean baseball player in the American Major League Baseball (MLB). In his interview with us, Choo shared some of the things he’s been keeping close to his heart.
In his 23rd year as a professional, Shin-soo Choo has been struggling with injuries and poor performance this year. His batting average fluctuated between 1 and 2 percent for a month after the start of the season. He was sent to the second team in late May. This, coupled with an ankle injury, led him to decide that he was “no longer useful to the team.” At the time, Shin-Soo Choo was batting .202 for the season.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing since his return. On April 16-17, he took two days off due to a sore calf. “In 2016, when I was with the Texas Rangers, I had a calf injury that kept me out for almost two months, and I felt pain in the same area,” he said.
“For the first time this year, I feel like I’m getting older, and I can definitely feel the difference in my body, regardless of my performance,” he said. “In the past, if I didn’t feel well, I could take a painkiller and play without thinking about it. This season, even after resting (and taking painkillers), it’s hard to compete. I rarely play at 100 percent, and that translates into my performance.” With a fighter’s mentality, Shin-Soo Choo didn’t shy away from pitches to the body and went toe-to-toe with pitches to the head, amassing 152 strikeouts in his big league career, but he was also durable, averaging 130 games a year from 2010-19.
Shin-Soo Choo’s midseason report card this year is a .271 batting average with seven home runs and 26 RBIs in 77 games. He has a .398 on-base percentage and a .405 slugging percentage. While these are not bad numbers, they do not live up to the reputation of Choo Shin-soo. He said, 토토사이트 “My poor performance this year is also affected by my personality. I didn’t admit it, but I was greedy, believing that I could still do well. I was stressed and didn’t want to admit my slump, thinking, ‘Why not?
Shin-Soo Choo still holds the record for most home runs and RBIs by an Asian player in MLB. In 2009, he became the first Asian player to hit .325 with 20 home runs and 20 doubles, and in 2015, he became the first Asian player to hit for the cycle. After batting .275 with 218 home runs, 782 RBIs, 961 runs scored, 157 doubles, and an OPS of 0.824 in 1,652 big league games, he joined the KBO in 2021. After three seasons, he hit the “age limit”.
Eventually, the 40-something Shin-soo Choo decided to accept his age and let go of the pressure of being a major leaguer.
“I came here after playing in the MLB. Of course, I can’t understand my current performance,” he said. “There’s also the disappointment of not reaching (fans’) expectations. That’s why I was more impatient,” he said. He continued, “No matter how you look at it, Choo Shin-soo is a good player with a good vision.