Seoul: Over his 20-year career spanning two leagues and five clubs, Choo Shin-soo has enjoyed his share of memorable moments. At his retirement press conference Thursday, Choo said winning the 2022 Korean Series title with the SSG Landers topped the list of his career highlights.According to Yonhap News Agency, Choo officially hung up his spikes Thursday, finalizing the plan he had announced in December 2023. The 42-year-old outfielder and designated hitter spent the final four years of his career with the Landers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), after playing for four clubs across 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB).Before taking questions from the media, Choo listed the top-five moments of his career. Being nominated for the 2020 Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes philanthropy and community involvement for MLB players, ranked fifth on Choo's personal list.When MLB was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, Choo gave US$1,000 to all 191 minor league players i n the Texas Rangers organization. Prior to that, Choo had provided scholarships for the Arlington School District and Korean students, and hosted athletes from the local Miracle League. Choo and his wife, Ha Won-mi, donated $100,000 to help establish the Korean Cultural Center in Dallas.Checking in at No. 4 was his first 20-20 season in 2009, while a member of the Cleveland Indians (currently Guardians). He finished that season with 20 homers and 21 steals, becoming the first Asian-born player in MLB history to join the 20-20 club. Choo launched his 20th homer in his final game of that season.Choo made another bit of history on July 21, 2015, when he became the first Asian player to hit for the cycle in MLB. He put that at No. 3 on the list. Against the Colorado Rockies, Choo batted 4-for-5 with a single, a double, a triple, and a home run.During the 2018 season with the Texas Rangers, Choo set a franchise record with a 52-game on-base streak, and he ranked that accomplishment at No. 2 on the list of hi s highlights.Choo said nothing was better than winning his first professional championship with the Landers in 2022. That year, the Landers became the first KBO team to lead the regular-season standings from start to finish, and then knocked off the Kiwoom Heroes in six games in the best-of-seven Korean Series.Game 5 will be remembered as one of the most dramatic games in KBO postseason history. With the series tied at two games apiece, the Landers were trailing 4-2 entering the bottom of the ninth inning. The Landers' first two batters of that inning reached, and pinch hitter Kim Kang-min delivered a walkoff, three-run blast for a 5-4 victory.The Landers won Game 6 by 4-3 to clinch the championship. Choo batted .320 in those six games and had at least a hit in every game. "It's not just me. I think so many players put in so much work to have a chance to win a championship," Choo said. "I really wanted to win a title in the majors, and finally accomplishing that in Korea meant the world to me. I felt li ke I was rewarded for everything I'd done in this game."
- October 12, 2026
