Choo hears boos for wrong reason
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Paul Hoynes
Cleveland Plain Dealer Reporter
Minneapolis -- Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, promoted to the big leagues Monday by the Indians, has heard boos before.
Last week, the boos took on a disturbing tone. When Class AAA Buffalo, the Indians' top farm club, played in Toledo, fans apparently associated him with Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech senior who killed 32 of his schoolmates before killing himself April 16.
"Some fans said bad things," said Choo before Monday's game. "It's pretty close to my name. My name is spelled Choo, and his name is Cho."
When asked what the fans were saying, Choo wouldn't say.
"It upset me when a couple of fans talked like that," he said.
Choo and Cho are from South Korea.
The Indians promoted Choo to replace injured third baseman Andy Marte. Choo started in left field Monday. Marte strained his left hamstring running out a grounder Sunday at Tropicana Field. The Indians sent him to Cleveland on Monday for further examination.
"We don't think it's that serious," said manager Eric Wedge.