Choo Shin-soo made 1.9 billion won, but why did he re-examine the day he wrote history for the first time in history
Nov 18, 2025
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On the day that Choo Shin-soo wrote the first Korean history in the U.S. Major League Baseball, the U.S. sports media 'The Athletic' re-examined Choo Shin-soo's past remarks that criticized the Korean baseball development system.
Choo Shin-soo was listed as a candidate for the 2026 Hall of Fame announced by the American Baseball Journalists Association (BBWAA) on the 18th (Korea time). In addition to the existing 15 candidates, 12 new candidates, including Choo Shin-soo, are added to the total of 27.
It is the first time in history that a Korean major leaguer has been named a candidate for the Hall of Fame. Park Chan-ho played in the big leagues for 17 seasons, achieving 124 wins, the most ever by an Asian pitcher, but was shunned by the BBBWAA when he qualified for the 2016 nomination.
The Major League Hall of Fame grants candidates for admission to players who have played for more than 10 seasons and have not played in the U.S. professional baseball for more than five years. Qualification does not mean that all candidates can be candidates, and the BBWAA selects candidates for admission from among those eligible. The selection of candidates alone means a lot.
The U.S. sports media 'The Athletic' highlighted 12 new candidates on the day, looking back on how Choo Shin-soo learned baseball in Korea and was able to succeed in the major leagues.
The Athletic said, `Choo Shin-soo is the most successful example of a batter who has moved to the Major League from Korea. During his 16 seasons, he played mostly for the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians) and Texas Rangers. It was a on-base machine with long-range power, and he said he learned everything about baseball in high school.
Choo Shin-soo, who was the ace of Busan High School, stood out early with both pitching and hitting, and signed a $1.35 million contract with Seattle in August 2000 ahead of his graduation from Busan High School. He chose to go straight to the Major League instead of the KBO. After eating bread soaked in tears in the minor leagues, Choo made his big league debut with Seattle in 2005 and achieved his dream.
In 16 seasons, Choo recorded a total of 1,652 games, a batting average of 0.275 (1,671 hits in 6,087 at-bats), 218 homers, 782 RBIs, 157 steals, and an OPS of 0.824.
When he was in Cleveland in 2009, he recorded 20 home runs and 21 steals, becoming the first Korean player to join the 20-20 club in history. In 2010, he recorded 22 home runs and 22 steals, achieving 20-20 for the second consecutive year. In 2013, he won his third 20-20 individual honor with the Cincinnati Reds.
After the 2013 season, Choo Shin-soo became a free agent and signed a seven-year, 130 million-dollar contract with Texas, drawing attention. It was the highest-ever contract for Koreans and the first Asian player to sign a $100 million contract.
Choo Shin-soo succeeded in getting on base in 52 consecutive games, the record for the Texas club in 2018, and was selected as an All-Star for the first time in his life that year.
The Athletic said Choo Shin-soo's success supported his efforts in high school, but the player himself criticized the development system.
The Athletic said 'According to Choo Shin-soo, players who are students train for five hours every morning from 7 a.m. After an hour's rest, additional training follows. After completing training at around 5 p.m., they washed up, ate dinner, and did weight training from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. It is said that they were boarding at school and family visits were only available on Sundays. Choo Shin-soo succeeded by signing with Seattle for $1.35 million, but he said the rest of the students had no choice but to pursue a career other than baseball and even had a distorted view of the sport.
Choo Shin-soo told his MLB teammate in 2010 that `Major League players can forget even if they have bad plays and bad games. Today is a new day. But when I first came to America, I was still Korean style. If I played a bad game the day before, I paid attention until the next day. I feel better now. I feel a little more American now."
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He also introduced Choo's unique helmet style.
As for the style of Chu Shin-soo, The Athletic wore a helmet that covered only one ear, which was most preferred by major leaguers after adjusting in Texas. But for years, Choo has been the only player to wear a helmet covering both ears, even though he was not a switch heater. There is no possibility that Choo Shin-soo will be elected, but don't you want to see him (with a helmet covering both ears) on the Hall of Fame plaque?'
Choo became the fourth Asian player to become a Hall of Fame candidate. Earlier, three Japanese players, Hideo Nomo, Hideki Matsui and Ichiro Suzuki, were selected as candidates.
Ichiro is the only player inducted into the Hall of Fame. In a vote announced in January this year, it received 99.75% of the vote.
Reporters with more than 10 years of experience with the BBWAA must receive 75% or more of the vote in order to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Once selected as a candidate, he or she will remain eligible for 10 years and can try to enter the Hall of Fame every year, but if he or she receives less than 5% of the vote, he or she will lose his or her candidacy the following year.
Nomo lost his qualification in the first vote with only 1.1% of the votes and Matsui with only 0.9% of the votes.
Choo Shin-soo needs more than 75% of support to succeed Ichiro, and some predict that it will not be easy to cross the 5% wall right away.
MLB.com named Cole Hamels as the only candidate among its new members who could get more than 75% of the support. In addition to Choo Shin-soo and Hamels, Ryan Brown, Edwin Encarnacion, Gio González, Alex Gordon, Matt Kemp, Howie Kendrick, Nick Markakis, Daniel Murphy, Hunter Pence and Rick Fossello are new candidates.
The results of the vote will come out on January 21 next year, and players with more than 75% of the votes will be officially named in the Hall of Fame on July 27 next year.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
