Shin Soo Choo
Shin-soo Choo, often referred to by baseball fans as the "Choo Choo Train", is only 5 hits away from reaching As of now Choo has 995 career hits in total including today's game with the Houston Astros at the Minute Made Park in Houston, Texas.
2014 was a very difficult season for the Korean outfielder. After a successful 2013 season with the Cincinnati Reds, Choo signed a multi-million dollar contract with the Rangers. Sports experts all expected Choo to be a highly effective lead-off for the Rangers and provide their new clean-up batters, including Prince Fielder (former Detroit Tigers) opportunities to bat in runs.
However, Choo and most of the members of the Texas ball club have fallen into serious batting slumps. Choo's batting average is currently 0.238, extremely low in comparison to his previous years with both the Reds and the Cleveland Indians. The Rangers' coaching staff announced that Choo will be participating in this season's remaining games as designated hitter (DH).
Choo first flew over to the United States in 2000 into the Minor Leagues (Seattle Mariners) right after graduating from Busan High School and helping the Korean national team earn the gold medal for the IBAF AAA Junior Championship. Considered one of Korea's best amateur pitchers, during the 8 years in the Minor Leagues, Choo trained and transferred to batting and was coached to be right fielder.
Although Choo was called up into the big leagues several times he was constantly put under the shadow of the Mariners' right fielder, Ichiro Suzuki (NY Yankees). Later in 2008 he was traded to the Cleveland Indians where he became the first Korean batter to hit a 300 average. Choo was a highly valued 5 tool player while playing for the Indians in that he was fast, hits 300 average, has hitting power, plays good defense and was a great team player, and in the 2009 and 2010 seasons hit 20 plus homeruns and stole 20 plus bases.
Choo also was an active participant in the Korean national team. He first joined during his pro career in 2009 where he led Korea to earn the silver medal for the World Baseball Classic. He was even excused from military service when he led Korea to win the gold medal for baseball in the 2010 Gwangzhou Asian Games.
This year, Choo is not living up to the expectations of both his fans and critics. The Rangers are currently ranked last place in the American League Western Division. Many experts believe that it is because the star player has not been able to overcome the pressure of a high-paid FA player.
Meanwhile, Ichiro Suzuki whom Choo was often compared to and considered his rival is on the verge of being released from the Yankees after several disappointing seasons. The Japanese legend is only a handful of hits away from reaching 3,000 career hits from both the MLB and Nippon Pro Baseball.
