Shin-Soo Choo Marquee

b. July 13, 1982 · Seattle Mariners 2005–2006, Cleveland Indians 2006–2012, Cincinnati Reds 2013, Texas Rangers 2014–2020

In 2013, his one season in Cincinnati, he walked 112 times, was hit by 26 pitches and reached base in 42 percent of his plate appearances, batting leadoff. The hit-by-pitch total is among the highest of the modern era and he stood as close to the plate as the rules allow.

Sixteen seasons gave him 1,671 hits, 218 home runs, 782 runs batted in, 868 walks, 157 stolen bases and a .275 average. He had three 20-home-run, 20-steal seasons, in 2009, 2010 and 2013.

He was South Korean, signed by Seattle at eighteen out of Busan, and served no military obligation because the gold medal Korea won at the 2010 Asian Games exempted him. Texas signed him for seven years and $130 million, and he was the first Asian-born player to reach that scale. He is not yet on a Hall of Fame ballot.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
All-Star selection	1	2018
Player of the Month	2	2008, 2015
Player of the Week	1	2010

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
2005	SEA	10	18	1	1	0	0	0	1	3	4	0	.056
2006	CLE/SEA	49	157	23	44	12	3	3	22	18	50	5	.280
2007	CLE	6	17	5	5	0	0	0	5	2	5	0	.294
2008	CLE	94	317	68	98	28	3	14	66	44	78	4	.309
2009	CLE	156	583	87	175	38	6	20	86	78	151	21	.300
2010	CLE	144	550	81	165	31	2	22	90	83	118	22	.300
2011	CLE	85	313	37	81	11	3	8	36	36	78	12	.259
2012	CLE	155	598	88	169	43	2	16	67	73	150	21	.283
2013	CIN	154	569	107	162	34	2	21	54	112	133	20	.285
2014	TEX	123	455	58	110	19	1	13	40	58	131	3	.242
2015	TEX	149	555	94	153	32	3	22	82	76	147	4	.276
2016	TEX	48	178	27	43	7	0	7	17	25	46	6	.242
2017	TEX	149	544	96	142	20	1	22	78	77	134	12	.261
2018	TEX	146	560	83	148	30	1	21	62	92	156	6	.264
2019	TEX	151	563	93	149	31	2	24	61	78	165	15	.265
2020	TEX	33	110	13	26	3	0	5	15	13	33	6	.236
Career	—	1652	6087	961	1671	339	29	218	782	868	1579	157	.275

On this day & linked events

1982

Born July 13, 1982

Busan, Busan, South Korea

2005

Major-league debut: Shin-Soo Choo

Shin-Soo Choo made a major-league debut on April 21, 2005.

2010

Shin-Soo Choo's Three-Home-Run Game, 2010

Shin-Soo Choo hit three home runs for the Cleveland Indians against the Kansas City Royals on September 17, 2010.

2015

Shin-Soo Choo Hits for the Cycle, 2015

Shin-Soo Choo hit for the cycle for the Texas Rangers against the Colorado Rockies on July 21, 2015.

2020

Final major-league game: Shin-Soo Choo

Shin-Soo Choo played a final major-league game on September 27, 2020.

Image: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0