When it comes to MLB's Korean stars, there is one name that dominates the record books: Shin-Soo Choo. The slugging outfielder with an impeccable batting eye is first in nearly every offensive category among players born in South Korea -- hits, home runs, RBIs, stolen bases, the list goes on. You might be surprised to learn that despite the numbers and accolades that came from a 15-year big league career -- three 20/20 seasons, an All-Star Game appearance, a spot on Korea's 2009 World Baseball Classic roster, and three trips to the postseason -- he never thought he was very talented.
Wait, what?
"I never thought that I was very good at baseball," Choo told MLB.com over Zoom recently, with MLB's SunJae Song translating. "Even being in the Major Leagues, it's a league with so many monsters and so many great players that really made me humble and really made me work hard. One thing that I've always been proud of was how passionate I was about baseball and how hard I worked at my craft."
Choo recently had a chance to look back on his career and the accomplishments he achieved. Following the 2020 season, Choo returned to Korea -- where he had never played professionally -- to join the SSG Landers for four seasons before retiring at the end of last year. He was offered the chance to have a retirement ceremony last season, but with the Landers in the postseason hunt, Choo didn't want to cause a distraction.
So, this year, on June 14, Choo received the sendoff he richly deserved, appearing at Incheon SSG Landers Field with his wife and children in tow.
"I feel very fortunate to have played this game for such a long time and for the career that I had," Choo said. "I understand that retirement ceremonies are rare, and it was certainly a special moment for me. It felt like I was being rewarded for the career that I had, the ups and downs that I went through during my career. I cherished every moment of it."
While Choo can now look back on a successful career, it wasn't always easy. He spent seven years in the Minor Leagues, arriving as a fresh-faced 18-year-old in a new country with few people who spoke his language or shared his background. At that time, only a handful of Korean-born pitchers like Chan Ho Park and Byung-Hyun Kim had reached the Majors, but Hee-Seop Choi -- the first Korean position player to play in the big leagues -- had yet to make his MLB debut.
"I definitely felt a lot of pressure," Choo admitted. "I put it on myself because I was one of the only Koreans. My actions and my records would reflect on the other Korean players. There was a lot of pressure with that. But as time went on, I became a little bit more comfortable and it felt more natural."
He's seen how the game has changed during his career. With more players crisscrossing the globe, "the culture is a little bit different." It's allowed young Korean players like Ha-Seong Kim and Jung Hoo Lee to arrive in America and more easily assimilate to the league.
Wanting to help, Choo offered Lee some advice before he joined the Giants.
"He asked a few times about what he needed to look out for and what to be mindful of when making the move to the Majors," Choo said. "But he's such a great player, so in terms of skill or baseball, there wasn't much for me to talk about or touch on. It was more the social stuff, you know, integrating into the team, being outgoing and proactive in terms of assimilating to the team."
Knowing how important those mentorships can be, Choo wanted to honor the players who helped him on his big league journey. He invited Adrian Beltré and Cole Hamels to come to Incheon for the farewell party.
"I've had a lot of great teammates over the course of my career that had a big impact on me," Choo said. "Those two in particular, they were superstars, but I didn't invite them because of that. While playing with them, I saw how they prepared for games, how they carried themselves, and they taught me a lot about how to be a professional -- the side that people don't see. They had a huge impact on me throughout my career."
He didn't just want some friends to hang out with, though: Beltré and Hamels were tasked with passing along their knowledge to the young Landers players still coming up.
"Certainly the congratulations were great," Choo continued, "but it was an opportunity for them to pass on that knowledge to the second-team players here."
Choo has thought about his role in giving back to the next generation well before he hung up his cleats. When the Minor League season was canceled because of the pandemic in 2020, Choo donated $1,000 to every player in the Rangers Minor League system, along with another donation of $200,000 to the Korean Community Fund.
"I really saw them as family. We're from different backgrounds, we're different people, but baseball brought us together," Choo said. "[The Rangers] brought us together, so we're family and I need them to be at their best and perform so that the team and the organization benefits from it," Choo explained. "I'm sure that when they become Major Leaguers, they would do the same thing for the next generation."
Now working in the Landers' player development system, that's literally his job description. Admitting that baseball's popularity in Korea "is at an all-time high," Choo is hoping that his knowledge and experience can help the players mentally and emotionally.
"I really believe that where there is a will, there's a way," Choo said. "The way you think and approach things allows you to achieve what you need to. In the four years that I was playing in Korea, I encountered a lot of really, really skilled and good players. I think one thing that the players could improve on was the mental side of things. I saw that there was a fear of failure. In my position right now, I'm trying to instill a positive attitude with the players and trying to be a good communicator with them."
It's not just the Landers' players that the former big leaguer is helping out. Choo's two sons are currently playing baseball, so naturally he's hoping to do the same thing for them.
"I'm trying to raise them in a way where, in addition to skill level, they're also resilient kids who can toughen up and survive the difficulties that it takes when you're a baseball player," Choo said. "What I actually do for the Landers in player development, I'm trying to instill in my children to become better ball players as well as better people."