Участник:Will he be able to do the third retirement tour ever, the last "Chugang Dae-yeop" that announced his retirement next year
SSG announced on the 14th, "Choo Shin-soo has decided to retire after finishing his professional baseball career at the end of 24 seasons."
After graduating from Busan High School, Choo immediately moved to the U.S. after signing a contract with the Seattle Mariners, he played for Seattle, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and the Texas Rangers, recording a batting average of 275 (7,671 hits in 6,087 times at bat) with 218 homers, 782 RBIs, 961 runs scored, 157 steals, and an OPS.824 in 16 seasons (2005-2020) in the Major League. In 2013, he was ranked 12th in the National League MVP voting.
Choo, who had a successful career in the Major League, will come to the KBO League by signing a contract with SSG ahead of the 2021 season. During the three-year period from 2021 to this year, he recorded a batting average of 260,000 (325 hits in 1,252 at bat) with 49 homers, 168 RBIs, 226 runs, and 46 stolen bases with an OPS of .819. In 2022, he led his team to its first Korean Series championship since the team name was changed to SSG.
However, Choo had a batting average of 254 (97 hits in 382 at-bats) in 112 games this year, posting 12 homers, 41 RBIs, 65 runs and an OPS of .777. SSG also ended its autumn baseball season early as it lost to fourth-ranked NC (75 wins, 2 draws and 67 losses) with 76 wins, three draws and 65 losses.
Choo, who was running towards the end of his career, decided to retire at the end of next season. He also received 2.7 billion won (2.7 million U.S. dollars) in annual salary in his first and second years, and 1.7 billion won (1.2 million dollars) this year, but decided to donate his entire salary next year by receiving only the minimum salary (30 million won) to manage his team's salary cap.
As Choo Shin-soo declared his final season as an active pro, attention is focusing on whether his retirement tour will proceed. Only two players have officially conducted retirement tours in the history of the KBO League. The stars are Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop, who has kept the record of the most home runs in the KBO League history, and Lee Dae-ho, who succeeded in advancing to the Major League through the KBO League and the Japanese professional baseball.
While playing for the Samsung Lions, Lee had a batting average of .32 (2,156 hits in 7,132) in 1906 games with 467 homers and 1,498 RBIs in the OPS.960. In the Japanese professional baseball league, he also played for Chiba Lotte, Yomiuri and Orix and shot 159 homers, and the total number of homers in Korea and Japan amounts to 626. Lee, who had 56 homers in 2003, set a new Asian record for most homers, created a sensation across the country and was loved as a national homerun batter. In 2017, the last season of his pro baseball career, he held his retirement tour for the first time in the KBO League, and greeted his fans at the end.
Lee Dae-ho, who played as Lotte's franchise star, was loved as the "No. 4 hitter of Joseon" for his outstanding performance as a member of the national team. He recorded a batting average of .399 (2,199 hits in 7,118 at-bats) with 374 homers and 1,425 RBIs in 1971 games in the KBO League. Lee Dae-ho, who entered the Japanese professional baseball league in 2012 and won the 2015 Japan Series MVP award, recorded a batting average of .293 (622 hits in 2,122 at-bats) with 98 homers and 348 RBIs in 570 games with a split contract with the Seattle Mariners in 2016. Although he only played for one season in the Major League, he recorded his own mark with a batting average of .253 (74 hits in 292 at-bats) with 14 homers and 49 RBIs with an OPS of .740. After returning to Korea in 2022, Lee finished his career in retirement tour for the second time ever with fans celebrating his career.
Choo Shin-soo, Lee Seung-yeop, and Lee Dae-ho are all called "Chugangdaeyeop" and are considered the best hitters in Korea. Except for Kang Jung-ho, who joined the club with three players but retired infamously due to drunk driving, Lee and Lee have all had the honor of hosting the retirement tour. Choo is the last player to remain active among Choo Kang-yeop.
Choo is certainly a batter who has achieved more than Lee Seung-yeop and Lee Dae-ho. No other Korean batter has outperformed Choo in the Major League. Considering his performance, it would not be strange to take a retirement tour. However, the problem is that he has played in the KBO League for only four years including next year. As the KBO League retirement tour is an event for KBO league fans, his performance and popularity in the KBO League are also important. Currently, chances are slim for Choo to take a retirement tour.
"As far as I know, the player himself has no intention of doing the retirement tour. It's not like a club can say that they want to do it. What's important after all is the fans' thoughts," said an SSG official. "We can't say anything officially at the moment. Nothing has been decided yet. The most important thing is what fans and media think about Choo's retirement tour."
Choo has left his mark in both the Major League and the KBO League, and is preparing for the final chapter of his career. Let's wait and see how Choo will have his last farewell with his fans.