Will Choo break Ichiro`s 10-season Gold Glove streak?

Who is the best right fielder in the U.S. Major League Baseball? Many experts say outfielder Choo Shin-soo, 29, of the Cleveland Indians.

Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who saw Choo`s strong arm in a recent home game, said, “He has both the strongest arm and the most accurate throw among right fielders.”

Choo showed his arm strength in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory against the Boston Red Sox Tuesday in Cleveland. When he caught the ball and threw it to second base in the ninth inning, hitter J.D. Drew dared not attempt a run to second.

Though Choo went 0-4 at the plate, he contributed to his team’s win with his fielding. The Red Sox had seven hits in the game but failed to score in the final four innings.

This year, the Korean is likely to earn his first American League Gold Glove. Previous winners of the award tend to win it again, with Suzuki Ichiro of the Seattle Mariners being honored for 10 straight seasons.

A competition is expected this year, however, because Choo is leading Ichiro in stats among right fielders. Choo surpassed Ichiro last year in assists, which require a strong arm and accurate throw, with 14 as opposed to the Japanese star`s seven.

Ichiro, however, got the Gold Glove because Choo was behind in fielding average. Ichiro had 365 fielding opportunities last year and Choo 285. They both had four errors but Ichiro’s fielding average of .989 edged out Choo’s .986.

Things are opposite this year, however. Choo is leading Ichiro 6-2 in assists and his fielding average of .990 tops Ichiro’s 0.973. Ichiro, teammate Franklin Gutierrez and Carl Crawford of the Boston Red Sox received the American League Gold Glove last year.

Also in Monday`s game, Cleveland manager Manny Acta was ejected for arguing an umpire decision but the win gave the Indians the best record in the majors at 30-15.