Choo Shin-soo signs with Emart baseball club

Choo Shin-soo signs a 2.7-billion-won deal with the Emart baseball club. [SHINSEGAE]

MLB veteran Choo Shin-soo has signed with the as-yet unnamed Emart baseball club, joining the KBO for the first time in his career.

The Incheon club’s new owner Shinsegae Group announced Tuesday that Choo will earn 2.7 billion won ($2.4 million) in annual salary, with the exact length of his contract unconfirmed.

Choo was the most established Korean playing in the major leagues, having chosen to head straight to the United States rather than first plying his trade in the KBO. Over 16 seasons in the big leagues, he has played for the Seattle Mariners, the Cleveland Indians, the Cincinnati Reds and the Texas Rangers.

Throughout his 16 years in the MLB, Choo has a career batting average of .275 with 1,671 hits, 782 runs batted in and 218 home runs. He is famously fearless at the plate, and has racked up 152 hits by pitch throughout his career, the second highest of any active player and 23rd highest of all time.

Choo is an outfielder, but has spent the last few years playing mainly as a designated hitter for the Rangers. The KBO also follows the designated hitter system, although whether Choo will fulfill that role in Incheon is unclear.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]