SSG Landers Choo Shin-soo, 41, will retire from active play in 2024.
“Shin-soo Choo has decided to retire after 24 seasons as a professional baseball player,” SSG said on Thursday.
In 16 seasons in the majors (2005-2020) after graduating from Busan High School, Shin-soo Choo batted .257 with 218 home runs, 782 RBI, 961 runs scored, 157 doubles, and an OPS of .824 in 1,652 games (6087 at-bats, 1671 hits). The best performer of the South Koreans in the majors, Shin-Soo Choo, left the majors in 2020 to join the KBO. In three seasons (2021-2023) in South Korea, he batted .265 with 49 home runs, 168 RBI, 226 runs scored, 46 doubles, and an OPS of .819 in 361 games (1252 at-bats).
Choo Shin-soo, who led SSG to its first Korean Series title since the team changed its name last year, was a bit more disappointing this year, batting .254 (382-for-97) with 12 home runs, 41 RBI, 65 runs scored, six doubles and a .777 OPS in 112 games. SSG also finished third in the league with 76 wins, three ties and 65 losses, and fell short in the semifinals with a three-game loss to fourth-place NC (75 wins, two ties and 67 losses).
“During the off-season, my family and I had a lot of worries. Every time I did, I remembered SSG, the fans’ support, and most importantly, the junior players. 카지노사이트 I felt that I loved baseball and the team so much that I thought about my future with the club. Both the club and the new coach needed me and respected my opinion. Next year, I want to contribute to the team by sharing my experiences and thoughts while training with the junior players in the Future Team at any time depending on the team’s situation.”
Choo Shin-soo, who earned 2.7 billion won in his first year with SSG
Broke the record for the highest salary in Korean professional baseball at the time, re-signed for another 2.7 billion won in 2022 and earned 1.7 billion won this year. This year’s salary was cut by 1 billion won from last year, but it was still the highest among players excluding free agents and non-free agent multi-year contracts.
Choo Shin-soo, who had signed a contract with the best treatment every year, decided to sign a contract with the lowest annual salary (30 million won) next year. Even the 30 million won will be donated in full, meaning he will play next year’s season virtually unpaid. SSG said, “In the process of discussing his future with the club, Choo Shin-soo recently informed the club of his decision to retire after the 24th season and his intention to sign a contract with the lowest annual salary (30 million won) and donate his entire salary to the club. SSG respects Shin-soo Choo’s opinion and the club has decided to join his donation activities. The exact amount of the donation and various donation activities will be disclosed at a later date,” said SSG, revealing the club’s plans to donate alongside Shin-soo.
In response to the donation of Choo Shin-soo’s entire salary,
An SSG representative said, “30 million won may not seem like a lot. However, Shin-soo Choo decided to donate the entire amount as a way to give back the love he received from baseball. He wanted to end his career with a meaningful season. The club shares this sentiment and will announce the donation once plans are finalized.”
SSG commented on Choo Shin-soo’s decision to take the minimum salary, saying, “Choo Shin-soo decided to take the minimum salary because he wanted to give consideration to the team’s management. The club is very grateful for this. Thanks to this, we are able to expand the scope of our operations in terms of salary cap, player salary, and free agency.”
The KBO introduced a salary cap system this year. The salary cap, which runs through 2026, is set at 11.4268 billion won. As of March 7, SSG was already close to the salary cap, ranking first in the league with a team salary of 9.48 billion won (excluding rookies and foreign players). In this situation, Choo Shin-soo’s decision to accept the minimum salary, which was 1.7 billion won per year, gave SSG some breathing room.
An SSG representative said, “Choo Shin-soo is not a player who is greedy for money. The club had a lot of problems, but thanks to his decision, many of them have been solved. We have more scope to run the club. The club is very grateful that Shin-soo Choo understood the team’s situation and made a decision. We plan to honor him accordingly.”
Shin-soo Choo is considered one of the best hitters in Korean baseball history.
Naturally, fans are interested in what he will do after he retires from the game. Many are predicting that Shin-soo Choo will follow a leadership path. An SSG representative said, “We haven’t talked about anything specific yet. However, 바카라사이트 순위 he is a player who lives and dies by baseball, so I think he may have a leadership role in mind. For now, we know that he is focusing on finishing the season well next year.”
It will be interesting to see what Choo Shin-soo will do next season as he prepares for the end of his career that spanned from the Major League Baseball to the KBO.
