Ryu Hyun-jin says it is a regret to see Choo Shin-Soo leave MLB

“Blue Monster” Ryu Hyun-jin said it is a regret that Choo Shin-soo has left Major League Baseball.

“It would have been nice if we played in the majors together for a few more years,” Ryu said after an intrasquad game at TB Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida on Thursday. “He's been playing baseball here for 20 years, and I think it's going to be difficult to make adjustments. Obviously, he'll be the most senior player there, but there will still be parts of Korean baseball that he'll have to get used to.”

As Choo, who made his Major League Baseball debut in Seattle in 2005, left for the KBO this year, Ryu, who debuted in 2013, became the South Korean player with the longest MLB career who is still playing in the league. Choo and Ryu played against each other in a total of three games where they recorded two at-bats, no hit, one strikeout and one walk.

“Ji-man will follow in Shin-soo’s footsteps if he goes back to South Korea,” Ryu said speaking of Choi Ji-man who went to the same middle and high school with him. “But he should think about it here, and he can think about going back to South Korea later.” Choi previously said that Choo’s path seems right for him, implying that he would like to spend last years of his career in his home country.


Kyu-In Hwang kini@donga.com