Choo Shin-soo (41, SSG Landers) revealed the secret story of choosing the Texas Rangers over the New York Yankees in the free agent market nine years ago.
Choo Shin-soo appeared on DKNET, a Korean radio station in Dallas, Texas, USA on the 21st (hereafter Korean time) and looked back at the four teams he was in during his major league days.
Choo Shin-soo, who moved to the United States on an international amateur contract with the Seattle Mariners in August 2000, made his major league debut in 2005, 토토사이트 was traded to the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians) in July 2006, and to the Cincinnati Reds in December 2012, then traded with Texas in December 2013. He transferred to a 7-year, $130 million free agent contract and played a total of 16 years until 2020.
Choo Shin-soo, who was scouted by Seattle in his third year of Busan High School, said, “Seattle is the team that gave me a chance to come to America. At that time, he was nominated for the first round by the Lotte Giants, but he refused and went to the United States. At that time, I thought I was going to be a pitcher,” recalled Choo Shin-soo, who played an active role as a batter with a batting average of .275, 1671 hits, 218 homers, 782 RBIs, 157 stolen bases and OPS of .824 in 1652 major league games.
Choo Shin-soo, who was traded to Cleveland a year after his debut in Seattle, was reborn as a full-time starter here. He said, “Cleveland is a team that gave me the opportunity to become a full-time major league player.” Even when he was in Cleveland, he said on base, on base, but he didn’t focus on it. He was the first (fixed) number one hitter in Cincinnati, and in a way, it served as an opportunity to grow as a player at that time.”
Choo Shin-soo, who played an active role in the 20-20 club twice in Cleveland, increased his free agent value in Cincinnati in 2013 by recording a personal best on-base percentage (.423). Using this as a stepping stone, after the season, he won the highest contract among Asian players with Texas for 7 years and 130 million dollars. At that time, the New York Yankees also offered a larger amount, 7 years and 140 million dollars, but Shin-soo Choo chose Texas. Agent Scott Boras also reportedly turned down the Yankees’ offer.
Regarding this, Choo Shin-soo said, “When I become a free agent, I choose 10 teams with an agent where I want to go. The first was Texas. The second was the San Francisco Giants, and the third was Seattle,” he said. “The New York Yankees were not on my list from the beginning. The Yankees offered a larger amount, but they wanted a place where they could play baseball comfortably for a long time, and there were some Korean residents there, so there was no inconvenience in life. I also thought about my children’s school district,” he said, choosing Texas for his family’s living environment.
Choo Shin-soo played for Texas for 7 years until 2020. Although he was hampered by injuries, he filled the seven-year term of his contract, including being named an All-Star in 2018. As of 2021 he has been playing for the KBO League SSG, but his family and home are still in Texas. Choo Shin-soo said, “I came to express that America is like my home while living in Texas. If I was a bit of a stranger before, there are many Koreans in Texas, and my heart and life are comfortable,” he expressed his affection for the Texas region.
I also have a lot of love for the Texas team. Choo Shin-soo said, “I followed the Rangers every time I went to Korea. I always look at the articles and see what the grades are. It is a team that gave me a good opportunity and benefited me. I ran the longest, and I have an attachment. It’s the same now,” he said, cheering, saying, “As we brought in good pitchers such as Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eboldi, the possibility of (making good results) this year is higher than ever.”