The year he turned 18, he won the World Youth Baseball Championship in Canada, was named tournament MVP as a pitcher, and signed with the Seattle Mariners right after the final, beginning his career in the United States. He married in Korea that December. In March 2005, his first child was born, and in April he made his major league debut as a pinch hitter against Oakland.
In 2006, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians. In 2007, he had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow and missed the rest of the season.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 26, he returned from elbow surgery and rehabilitation to take over as starting right fielder, and was named American League Player of the Month in September, when he began to make his name in earnest.
In 2009, he homered in both the semifinal and the final of the World Baseball Classic as South Korea finished second, and in October became the first Asian player with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. In 2010, he won a gold medal at the Guangzhou Asian Games, which earned him an exemption from military service.
In 2012, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds.
In 2013, playing for Cincinnati, he finished 12th in the National League MVP vote. That December, he signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent for seven years and $130 million.
In 2015, he hit for the cycle against Colorado, the first Asian player to do so. In 2018, he was chosen for his first major league All-Star Game and set the active-player record with a 52-game on-base streak. In June 2019, he hit his 200th major league home run, the first by an Asian hitter.
In 2020, he finished the last season of his seven-year Texas contract. In 2021, he signed with Shinsegae, which had acquired the SK Wyverns, for the highest salary in KBO League history, and played his official KBO debut in April. In 2022, SSG won the Korean Series, and he won the first championship ring of his career, including his years in the majors.
In December 2023, he announced he would retire after the 2024 season and donate his salary. In 2024, he held a retirement press conference after the regular season and moved to the SSG Landers as adviser to the owner and head of player development. In November 2025, he became the first Korean major leaguer on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. In 2026, he made his debut as a TV Chosun baseball commentator at the Asian Games.
Shin-Soo Choo (born Jul 13, 1982) debuted on Aug 14, 2000, the year he turned 18, signing with the Seattle Mariners right after winning the World Youth Baseball Championship, and became known in 2008, the year he turned 26, when he returned from elbow surgery and was named American League Player of the Month. In 2013, the year he turned 31, he signed with the Texas Rangers for seven years and $130 million.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.