Wow, there were no Koreans like this Can Choo Shin-soo and Ichiro go the way for the first time ever...the honor of being a Hall of Fame candidate
Nov 18, 2025
|
The American Baseball Journalists Association (BBWAA) unveiled 27 candidates who could enter the 2026 Hall of Fame on the 18th (Korea time). It added 12 new candidates to the existing 15 candidates.
Choo Shin-soo was selected as a new candidate along with Cole Hamels, Ryan Brown, Edwin Encarnacion, Gio González, Alex Gordon, Matt Kemp, Howie Kendrick, Nick Markakis, Daniel Murphy, Hunter Pence and Rick Fossello.
Even Park Chan-ho couldn't do it. Park Chan-ho played in the big league for 17 seasons and achieved 124 wins, the most ever by an Asian pitcher, but was not even nominated. In 2016, he qualified as a candidate, but was shunned by the BBWAA.
Kim Byung-hyun, the first Korean to win the World Series, also suffered.
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.
Choo Shin-soo made his big league debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2005 and played 16 seasons until 2020. The Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians), the Cincinnati Reds, and the Texas Rangers played in four teams. He was short in Seattle and Cincinnati for less than two years, and played for Cleveland and Texas for seven years each. If Choo Shin-soo joins the Hall of Fame, he has to choose a team, but he is a member of Texas on the list of candidates.
|
|
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 in Cincinnati.
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.
Choo joined SSG in 2021 and finished his career in Korea. He played four more seasons until last year and put down the bat.
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 listed Hammels as the only candidate among its new members who could get more than 75% of the support. Hammels is a close teammate of Texas who visited Choo Shin-soo's retirement ceremony in June and boasts 163 big league wins.
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.
|
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
