Retired star Choo Shin-soo to join minor league front office for ex-KBO team

Retired South Korean baseball star Choo Shin-soo will work with his former club’s minor league affiliate in the new year, officials said Thursday.

An official with Shinsegae Group, which owns the SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), said Choo will join the front office of the Landers’ feeder team in the Futures League next season.

Choo, 42, announced his retirement following the 2024 season, his fourth in the KBO after 16 years in Major League Baseball (MLB).

At his retirement press conference on Nov. 7, Choo said he wanted to rest his weary mind and body, and spend some time with his family before planning his post-playing career. Choo also said he didn’t feel he was ready to jump into coaching right away.

The Landers, hoping Choo would help the club in some capacity, offered a Futures League position that won’t require year-round traveling. The arrangement would allow Choo to split his time between South Korea and the United States, where his two sons are playing baseball.

Statistically, Choo is the most successful South Korean hitter in MLB history. Choo finished his big league career with 218 home runs, 782 RBIs and 157 steals in 1,652 games, tops among South Korean players in all categories. In 2009, he became the first Asian-born player to join the 20-20 club by hitting 20 homers and stealing 21 bags for the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians). While with the Texas Rangers in 2015, Choo became the first Asian to hit for the cycle in the majors.

Choo helped the Landers capture the Korean Series title in 2022. He finished his KBO career with 54 homers, 51 steals and 205 RBIs in 439 games. He owns several “oldest-ever” records in the KBO, including being the oldest player to hit a home run, to steal, to drive in a run and to appear in a game in league history.