By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
After rehabilitating from elbow surgery, Cleveland Indians outfielder Choo Shin-soo was finally able to step to the plate on May 30, two months after the season had started.
The South Korean, who had never been a full-time player in U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB), was given a chance to platoon in right field.
Choo took advantage of the opportunity by having a breakout season, etching himself in the minds of coaches and fans while becoming a budding star.
Cleveland, which topped the American League (AL) Central division last year, finished the season with an 81-81 record and failed to earn a playoff berth. But the 26-year-old Choo produced 14 home runs, 66 RBIs and 68 runs with a batting average of .309 and a .549 slugging percentage in 94 games.
Although the native of Busan, who made his big league debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2005 and was traded to the Indians the next year, did not have enough at-bats to qualify for the list of batting average leaders, he ranked among the team leaders in several other statistics. He was fourth on the Indians in RBIs, third in runs and fifth in homers.
Choo, nicknamed ``Choo-Choo Train,'' provided an All-Star-caliber performance after the All-Star break. The player, who stands 1.81 meters tall and weighs 95 kilograms, had 11 dingers and 48 RBIs while batting .343 in the second half of the season. His batting average during that span was the fourth highest in the AL behind Manny Ramirez, who played for the Boston Red Sox before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Melvin Mora of the Baltimore Orioles and Mark Teixeira, who was traded from the Atlanta Braves to the Los Angeles Angels.
Choo's on-base and slugging percentages added together totaled 1.043 after the All-Star break. Ramirez (1.209), Teixeira (1.110) and Albert Pujols (1.100) of the St. Louis Cardinals are the only MLB players who outperformed him in that statistic.
Choo, the second South Korean position player in the big leagues, broke Choi Hee-seop's record for most hits and RBIs in an MLB season by a South Korean. He was one homer shy of the Korean home run record of 15, set by Choi, a former Chicago Cub now playing for the Kia Tigers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
Choi totaled 86 hits and 15 homers during his stints with the Florida Marlins and the Dodgers in 2004. The 1.98-meter Choi also lofted the ball over the fence 15 times in 2005.
Choo, who's set a goal of hitting 30 homers with a batting average of .300 for next year, is scheduled to return to Korea late next month.